


The magic of Love.

by Sallsmum



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Camping, F/M, First Love, First Time, M/M, Motorcycles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-10-20 12:07:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 55
Words: 123,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10662261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sallsmum/pseuds/Sallsmum
Summary: Alec LightWood and Jace Wayland had been great friends for years and worked in the same garage as mechanics. Jace was forever trying to set his friend up with girls but they just never seemed to be good enough for him. Then he had introduced Lydia to Alec and things seemed to be going well until they went on a long awaited camping trip and things changed dramatically after an encounter with a mysterious stranger called Magnus Bane, Life would never be the same again for Alec.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is only my second ever AU but first for here. The story is loosely based on one of the novels i'm currently working on and will have multi chapters. Hope you find it entertaining as it will give me a hint of how my novel might be viewed. Please let me know what you think of it. I will post the chapters as i write them, hopefully your feed back will keep me motivated to finish it off.

Alec Lightwood was really looking forward to the weekend. He and his best friend Jace Wayland had been planning it for a month. They had spent their lunch hours at the garage where they worked together as mechanics working out the details.  
One of the other guys had told them of a really great spot about two hours out of town that was near a local lake that was perfect for fishing, hiking swimming and bike riding so they decided to give it a try.  
They had organised to have the half day off on the Friday so they had plenty of time to pack their gear and drive out there before it got dark.

The day had finally come, and neither of them could wait till they finished at lunch time. Alec found himself watching the clock in the workshop every ten minutes, willing the time to go faster. He and jace just never seemed to get any free time together since they had started working at Pop’s Garage and Jace had met his girlfriend Clarissa.  
Clary seemed to take up a lot of Jace’s time these days and Alec missed not being able to just do stuff with the person who he had known since they were fourteen.  
He had actually gotten up the nerve to actually say something about it a couple of months back and unfortunately, Jace’s solution to the problem had been to get Clary to set him up with yet another one of her friends called Lydia Branwell.

They had conned him into a blind double date and Alec sort of felt obligated to go only because Jace would never of let him forget it otherwise. He was sure it would be just another date like a lot of the other ones that Jace had tried to set him up on over the years. He had tried, he really had and most of the girls he had met had been pretty nice. But there was always something about each one that he had used as an excuse so he didn’t have to see them again. Jace told him that he was just way too fussy. He, on the other hand, had never had issues with finding a girl, with his blonde hair, deep brown eyes and muscled frame. There had been quite a parade of them over the years but since he had met Clary, Alec had noticed that he seemed to of had less of a wandering eye than he had in the past.

Alec remembered how awkward he had felt about it as he tried to concentrate on the car he was working on.  
He had stood in front of the mirror at his small apartment and tried to tame the unruly mop that was his thick black hair. Then trying to find something to wear that didn’t have a hole in it, grease marks or was that old that it was faded had been a nightmare in itself. He had finally settled on a reasonably decent shirt and the newest pair of jeans he owned and then shoved his feet into his worn out Nikes.  
He had rode his bike down to the restaurant they had agreed to meet at, still giving himself a pep talk about at least trying to be pleasant to the girl. By the time he had parked and then pulled his helmet off his head they were standing on the foot path waiting for him. 

The night and Lydia had been pleasant enough. She had made small talk with him and told them all about her job at the library sourcing rare and hard to find books. They had gone out to a club afterwards and she had even managed to talk Alec into dancing with her for a few songs. When they managed to get a few minutes alone, Jace couldn’t wait to ask him what he thought of her.

“Yeah, she seems nice.” Was all he had replied.  
Jace had shot him a look.  
“What? Are you blind? She’s gorgeous. Blonde hair, brown eyes, great figure and really smart, what the hell else could you want?”  
Alec had shrugged and shook his head.  
“When you put it like that, nothing I guess.”  
“That’s more like it. Lydia Branwell fits even your high standards. You should ask her out. I can tell she really likes you.” Jace had urged him.  
Alec had given a nod of agreement but he also knew that the reason he kept rejecting girls had nothing to do with impossibly high standards.  
Alec had realised not long after he and Jace became friends that he had a crush on him. But also knowing that Jace was as straight as you could get, over the years he became a master at hiding his attraction for him, going along with him when he tried to set him up with girls. It had been six years now and they knew each other well, but Jace still didn’t know that part of him.

“Hey, didn’t you hear me? It’s lunch time man, we’re out of here.” Jace’s voice suddenly brought him back to reality and he looked up to the clock and saw that it finally the hour he had been waiting for.  
“Ok, so go home, get your gear ready and I will pick you up in an hour, ok?” Jace said when they walked out the front.  
“Yep, see you then.” Alec grabbed his helmet and got on his bike and headed for home.

It hadn’t seemed like two hours to get to the camping spot. The time spent talking and joking and discussing what they would do first when they got there. The directions they had gotten were easy to follow and they came around a bend and down a short dirt track to find themselves in a clearing. It was a great place. The lake was on one side of them and the woods on the other. They quickly unloaded their stuff, eager to get out there to explore their surroundings.  
They spent the rest of the afternoon following the winding trails through the trees before heading back to their camp site to set up the tent before it got dark. They had cooked themselves dinner over a small camp fire and had spent the rest of the night laughing and talking before finally getting into their sleeping bags.  
Alec lay in the tent beside Jace, watching his best friend sleeping. It was times like this when he allowed his mind to wander where Jace was concerned. He knew it was the closest he would ever get to sharing a bed with him and he had long since reconciled with himself the fact that nothing was ever going to happen between him and Jace beyond friendship. But every now and then his thoughts would flare up like the dull ache from an old injury and make him realise that although he might of managed to bury it deep it was still there.

The next day, they checked out the lake and even went swimming although it was freezing cold. After lunch, Jace wanted to go further up the trail than they had the day before so they got into their gear and headed off.  
It had been great, following the twisting trails through the trees and they climbed a steep rise to stop at the top, taking off their helmets to admire the view.

“Wow, this is great.” Jace said, looking out over the trees that seem to take on a whole new look in the late afternoon sun.  
“Yeah, it sure is. We’ve come a fair way from the camp though and it’s getting late we should head back. Hey, is that a house over there?” Alec shaded his eyes with one hand and pointed off into the distance with the other. Jace followed his line of sight, squinting against the sun.

“Yeah, I think your right. Shit, who would live all the way out here?”

“Someone who likes their privacy obviously.” They could just see the roof of the house, a small ribbon of smoke rose from the chimney; the only sign of human occupation, unless the local bear population had gotten extremely smart.

“Come on, let’s get going it’s a fare way back.” Alec walked back to his bike and put his helmet back on.  
“First one down cooks dinner.” Jace said, and jamming his own helmet on started his bike and pointed it towards the edge of the steep descent.

By the time Alec had started his own bike and started down the slope, Jace was already half way down. Alec had no sooner thought that Jace was going a bit too fast for the steep dirt slope when he saw his bike’s front wheel hit something and next minute Jace had gone one way and the bike another. Alec’s heart nearly stopped as he saw his friend land heavily on the ground. He revved his bike and hurried down to him, just letting the bike fall in his haste to get to Jace. He ripped his helmet off.

“Fuck Jace! Are you alright?” Alec gabbed him and helped him sit up.  
Jace took his own helmet off and stretched his back and arms, testing for any sore spots. He thought he had gotten away without any injuries until he tried to stand and his left ankle refused to support his weight. He gave cry of pain as it caused him to lose his balance. Alec’s hands flew out and supported him, saving him from hitting the dirt once again.

“Shit, and here I was thinking I was invincible or something.” Jace joked through gritted teeth.

“Can you ride do you think? We have to at least get you back to the camp site.” 

“Yeah, don’t think I can, I can’t even bend it, let alone put weight on it. How about you double me on yours then tomorrow when its better we’ll come back and pick it up?” Jace suggested.

Alec could tell he was in more pain than he was letting on. He was looking pretty pale and he’d broken out in a sweat.  
“I’m really worried that your ankle might be broken and I don’t think our phones are gonna work out here either.” Alec wanted to panic about their situation but he knew that that wasn’t going to solve their situation. How the hell could he get Jace to some help out here in the middle of nowhere on a trail bike? Then he had a thought.

“I’m taking you to that house we saw when we were up the top there. Someone must be there and they will probably have a working phone.” He told him.

“Nah, its fine I should be all good by tomorrow. It’s probably just sprained or something.” Jace said but when he put the slightest bit of weight on it he gave a yelp of pain again.

“No it’s not fine and if its broken you need help straight away. Come on let’s go, it’s almost dark and I don’t have a light on my bike.”

He leaned Jace up against a nearby tree till he picked up Jace’s bike from where it had ended up at the very foot of the slope and hid it in some bushes before he got his own bike and started it. Jace hopped over to him and managed to get on behind him. Alec shoved his helmet on again and made sure Jace was wearing his before they set off in what he hoped was the direction of the house they had seen.

A half an hour had passed before they finally found a dirt driveway that Alec preyed would lead them to the house. It was almost fully dark now and getting cold. He wanted to speed up but he didn’t want to risk anymore trouble. They rounded a bend and the house loomed up in front of them.

It was certainly an imposing sight. Two stories, faded weather beaten boards covered the outside and all but one of the windows were black. Alec felt himself relax a little after secretly fearing that they would get there and find no one at home after all. He stopped the bike right out the front and after putting the kick stand down then supporting Jace, they went to up to the large front door and knocked.

They heard footsteps from inside before a light suddenly went on and the door slowly cracked open.  
A young man stood before them. He was extremely well dressed in a dark jacket, shirt and pants. His black hair was combed back from his coffee coloured face which was dominated by a pair of large brown eyes. Alec swallowed and was totally shocked at himself when he realised that the first thought that came to his mind was how good looking he was.

“Can I help you?” he asked them, his voice deep and smooth.

“My friend Jace came off his bike not far from here and hurt his ankle. We left our phones back at our camp site and I think he needs a doctor, do you have a phone we can use?”

The man looked at Jace and then at the ankle he was favouring.

“Please, come in and I’ll let my employer know what’s happened.” He said.  
He stood aside and made a sweeping gesture with his hand for them to enter. Alec helped jace into the dully lit interior of the house.  
They were standing in a large foyer. The floor was marble tiles and there were various pieces of old looking furniture around them. Large pieces of art work hung on the walls, mostly landscapes from the quick glance Alec gave them. The man led them to a bench that looked sort of like a church pew that sat along one wall and they sat down.

“Please, wait here and I will be back shortly.” He told them before turning and going up the sweeping staircase. 

“Wow, some place eh? Wonder who lives here. If I didn’t know better I’d say it was count Dracula or someone equally as weird.” Jace said, giving his injured ankle a rub and wincing at the touch.

“Yeah very funny. I really don’t care if its Count Dracula or even Casper the friendly ghost, as long as they have a phone. I hope there’s a town near here with a hospital or a medical clinic at least.” Alec got up and started pacing nervously in front of the bench.

The man had been gone for about five minutes and Alec was starting to get really worked up.

“Jesus, where did he go? Doesn’t he realise that this is serious?” He ranted and he walked over to the foot of the stairs, peering up into the gloom of the first floor. 

A figure suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs.  
It was so sudden, it made Alec startle. They were entirely in shadow only a silhouette was visible. As Alec watched, the figure slowly started down the stairs. The soft light from the foyer started to reveal the person from the feet up.

First there was a pair of black leather boots with buckles on the ankles, then a set of long legs clad in a pair of tight black jeans. Elegant looking hands hung down either side, long fingers decorated with several rings. A tightly fitted deep red, almost black shirt topped with a black waist coat came into view next. Only the person’s head was in shadow now and they seemed to pause for a few seconds before they took the last two steps. 

Alec felt his breath hitch then leave him almost entirely as he looked into the face of the most exotic looking man he had ever seen in his life. He had a fine featured face with slightly slanted deep brown eyes, a small nose and a perfect cupid’s bow mouth. His skin was a light caramel colour. His hair was cut extremely close to the sides of his head but was styled long on top, spiked up and even had coloured streaks through it. Alec couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the good looking stranger. He held him captive with those beautiful eyes. He saw that perfect mouth curve into a small smile.

“Hello there. Raphael tells me you and your friend have run into some trouble.” His voice was smooth and rich and his words seemed to flow from his lips like warm honey.

Jace was watching from the bench and was utterly shocked at the way Alec was behaving. What was going on with him? He hadn’t taken his eyes off the guy for a second and it looked like his voice had deserted him as well. The weird thing about it was the other guy hadn’t stopped looking at him either. Jace cleared his throat before replying.

“Yeah, hi, I’m Jace and the tall dope in front of you is my friend Alec. We were out riding and I came off my bike. Florence Nightingale here thinks I need to have my ankle looked at but we don’t have our phones.”  
Their host gave Alec a bemused smile before finally tearing his eyes away from him and looked at Jace.

“Well, we can’t have you in pain any longer than necessary, can we. I’ll give Raphael instructions to take you to the small town not far from here and to the hospital.” He turned back towards Alec who was still looking at him like a deer caught in headlights.

“I should introduce myself. My name is Magnus Bane. You must be Alexander, or should I call you Florence?” he said, his voice full of amusement as he stuck his hand out towards Alec.

Alec broke out of his trance, blinking rapidly a few times before taking Magnus Bane’s hand in his. A jolt ran up his arm the second he felt the warm smoothness of his touch. It was like a shot of static electricity. 

“Ah, ha, just Alec will do.” He managed to get out and he realised that he still had hold of his hand and dropped it quickly. He saw the faintest curve to the other man’s lips and for a one mad second, Alec was sure he saw those deep brown eyes flash a golden amber but it must have been a trick of the light in here.  
“Alright, just Alec, please, wait here and I will tell Raphael to get the car. And please, call me Magnus.” And he turned and flew up the stairs much quicker than he had coming down them and disappeared into the shadows once more.

Jace looked at Alec who was still looking up the the stairs.

“Fuck, how weird was he? And who the hell is Raphael? Must be his “personal assistant.” Jace said, doing the inverted comma motions with his fingers. 

He shook his head. “And what the hell is your problem? I’ve never seen you more fascinated with anyone before, present company included.”

“What? No I wasn’t I was just, er, you know, trying to work him out, that’s all. Still pretty nice of him to drive us in to town though.” Alec said, coming back over to Jace and sitting down beside him.

“He’s not driving us Ralf is.”

“I think you mean Raphael” Alec corrected him. Jace shot him a look.

“Well, excuse me.” Alec was about to open his mouth to come back at his friend when they heard footsteps on the stairs. The man in question appeared before them.  
“Mr Bane has asked me to take you into town. It you give me a few moments to bring the car around, I’ll meet you out the front.” He told them and then promptly turned to go deeper into the house.

“Do you think he’s that Bane guy’s boyfriend?” Jace said, digging Alec in the ribs. Alec jumped and turned to frown at him while rubbing his side.

“I hope not.” 

Jace’s mouth fell open.

“what, did you just say?” Alec could feel his face heating when he realised what he had inadvertently just said.

“I mean I don’t think so. Come on, by the time I get you out there he should be ready.”

Alec put Jace’s arm around his shoulders and then wrapped his own arm around his back for support and they slowly made their way out the front door to find a sleek black Jaguar waiting for them.

“He might be a weirdo, but he’s a rich weirdo.” Jace said under his breath as they got in the back seat together.

The ride into the small hospital only took a half hour and they were taken into the examination room straight away. Jace wasn’t happy when they had threatened to cut his boot off him and managed to convince the doctor that he could get it off by loosening all the buckles. Alec could see how much the process had hurt him by the way Jace’s face got paler and a fine sheen of sweat had broken out on it. The second the boot was off, the ankle began to throb badly and Jace spent an agonising few minutes moaning with his face screwed up with pain before they gave him an injection. When it had taken effect, they wheeled him in to be x rayed then he was brought back to wait for the results. He pain relief had done its job well and Jace was laying back against the pillows with his eyes closed. Alec looked down at his swollen and bruised ankle and hoped for his sake that it there was nothing too badly wrong.  
He looked around the small emergency ward and saw that the doctor that had attended Jace was down near the entrance doors, taking to Raphael. His brow creased, wondering what they could be talking about. Raphael gave a quick look in his direction before he went back out through the doors and the doctor headed towards them.

Alec felt like he’s been caught eve’s dropping and turned back to Jace, who was out like a light. A minute later, the doctor was standing at the foot of the bed.

“It seems Mr Wayland has dodged a bullet today and has just very badly sprained his ankle. That being said, he will need to keep off it for the next 24 hours so I think it would be best for him to stay in here.” He told them.  
Alec went to wake him to tell his friend the news but the doctor told him not to bother.

“That injection will keep him under sedation and out of pain till at least tomorrow. I suggest you go and get some sleep yourself and come back then. He will be fine.”  
Alec didn’t like the thought of leaving his friend alone in an unfamiliar town and hospital but the day was starting to catch up with him.

“Ok, if you’re sure. Tell him I’ll see him tomorrow.”  
He got up and gave his stiff back a rub before he started heading out but then stopped. How the hell was he going to get back to the camp site now in the dark? He’s been so concerned about Jace and his ankle he hadn’t even thought about it. As if he had heard his thoughts, the doctor called his name.

“Ah, I’ve been told to tell you the car is out the front, by the way.” He said and then he turned and walked off. A small chill ran up Alec’s spine. Was that why he had seen Raphael talking to him earlier?

He went down the hall and out the doors to find both the car and Raphael standing there waiting for him.

“Mr Bane would like you to come back to the house and spend the night. It is too late for you to ride back to your camp site now and I will drive you back here in the morning to pick up your friend.” He said in a very business- like manner.

Alec was slightly stunned and wasn’t a hundred percent sure he should really be going back there, especially alone but the thought of seeing the mysterious Magnus Bane again was just too tempting.

Raphael opened to back door for him and he slid inside.


	2. Chapter 2

When they had arrived back at the house, Alec was surprised to see Magnus standing at the foot of the stairs, waiting for them.

“So, is your friend going to survive or are we talking amputation?” he asked, one corner of his mouth turned up in a grin.

“No, he’s ok just a bad sprain but they wanted to keep him and make sure that he stays off his foot till tomorrow. He was pretty out of it on the pain meds when I left. But I think you knew that already. Thanks for letting me stay. I was wondering how I was going to get back to the camp site.” Alec replied.

“Yes, well, I may have asked Raphael to keep me informed. Couldn’t have you wandering around the woods in the dark at this time of night. You might of ended up a midnight snack for something.”

Alec gave him a tired smile. He could feel the stresses of the past few hours catching up with him.  
“I bet you’re hungry though. How about we go into the kitchen for a bite to eat before you get some sleep? I make a pretty mean PB and J sandwich?” Magnus asked him.

As worn out by everything as he felt, the lure of spending more time with the enigmatic Magnus was too great to resist. 

“Sounds good, as long as you have milk as well.” He replied.  
Magnus smiled back at him and walked towards him, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

“Of course I have milk, what else do you drink with a PB and J sandwich?’ and he led Alec further into the house to the kitchen.

It was quite an impressive room. It looked like it was in keeping with the age of the house but the appliances were all stainless steel and modern. There was a large bench with industrial looking stools along it and Magnus waved Alec towards them and he took a seat. Magnus seemed out of place in such a domestic setting as he grabbed the ingredients for the sandwiches and the milk from the fridge.

“This is some place you have here. Have you owned it for long?” Alec asked him, watching as he spread the peanut butter onto the thick cut bread.

“Yes, I have actually. Been here for some time now.” He said, cutting the sandwiches and placing them onto two plates. He turned and opened a couple of cupboard doors before finding two glasses.

“Do much cooking?” Alec couldn’t help notice.

Magnus gave a short laugh. “Not really, no. Raphael does that. The kitchen is more his domain, I’m afraid. What you see here is the sum total of my culinary skills. But boy, can I make a mean sandwich.” He joked as he handed over a plate to Alec and then poured two glasses of milk.

Alec bit into one half of it and nodded his head. It did taste pretty good. Magnus took the stool next to his and started eating as well.

“Huh, another success. If I’m not careful some top chef will try to steal my recipe. I’m even thinking about going on one of those cooking shows on TV.” Magnus arched his eyebrows and looked over to him.

Alec couldn’t help but smile back at him. Magnus Bane had a great sense of humour to go along with those exotic good looks of his. The thought of which made Alec’s cheeks feel hot. He turned back to his sandwich and milk.

“So, Alexander, tell me about yourself. What is it that occupies your time when you’re not out in the wilderness helping hapless friends.”

“Jace and I are mechanics at a garage. We’ve been friends since high school.” Alec told him.

“Is that right? You must be very close then.”

“Yeah you could say that.” Alec wondered why Magnus might ask him such a thing.

“So, do you live together? Or……..” he trailed off.

“No, I have my own place. As much as I like Jace, I don’t think I could stand to live with him. I’m kinder a neat freak where he’s more of the “it lives where I drop it” kind of person. We did try it once but for the sake of our friendship we decided not to persevere.” 

“I must confess, I’m a little bit of a neat freak myself. There’s just something about having a place for everything and everything in its place. Luckily for me, Raph is the same way. So is there a significant other in your life?” Magnus asked, taking a sip of his glass of milk.

“Jace has a girlfriend called Clary. She’s really nice.” Alec didn’t exactly know why he had tried to deflect Magnus’ question or why he was reluctant to tell him about Lydia.

“How nice for Jace. But what about you?”  
He was watching him carefully with those deep brown eyes. Alec felt himself being drawn into them somehow.

“I’ve been seeing a girl for a couple of months. She’s one of Clary’s friends. But I’m only doing it to please Jace. He’s been trying to set me up with girls for ages but it never work out.” Alec heard himself saying.

He suddenly sat up, realising what he had just said. What in the world had made him tell this complete stranger that? Like he’d care anyway but he’d never revealed that about himself to anyone. He looked back at Magnus who seemed to be studying his face.

“Hummm, I wonder why that might be? Just too picky, are you? I’m sure with your thick black hair, big hazel eyes and that body of yours, you could have anyone you wanted.”  
He leaned an elbow onto the bench and slid it closer to Alec before resting his chin in his hand. Alec felt a piece of his sandwich stick in his throat. This was getting way too intense for this time of night. He’d never had another man compliment him like that before and he could feel himself being drawn into those deep brown eyes again. His heart was starting to gallop in his chest, this was too much for him.

“Ah, if you don’t mind I think I’d better get some sleep.” He managed to get out, hoping his voice hadn’t revealed how unnerved he really felt.

Magnus drew back and looked almost disappointed, but gave him a smile.

“Of course, you must be beat. Come, I’ll show you the way.” He got off the stool Alec followed him as he led him back through the house and up the stairs. They stopped at a door to the right of the top step. Magnus turned the handle and went in, turning on a bedside lamp.

The room looked very inviting. A large bed with a deep blue satin quilt took up most of the space with a small bedside table either side of it. There was a fire place with an arm chair facing it. Another door looked like it led into a bathroom.

“I think you should be comfortable in here. We don’t get many unexpected guests but I checked everything before you came back. I’ve left a pair of pajamas there for you, I think they should fit, if you want to wear them and there are fresh towels in the bathroom.” He gave a sigh and then turned back towards the door.

“I hope you have a good night’s sleep Alexander. If you should need anything, my door is the third one up. Pleasant dreams.” 

He gave a small wave and a smile before he left, closing the door behind him. Alec had opened his mouth to say thank you but He had left too quickly. He sat on the edge of the bed and started to pull his boots and socks off. Magnus Bane was certainly hard to work out. One minute he couldn’t tear his eyes from him the next he couldn’t seem to get away from him fast enough. Alec rubbed his face in his hands, and shook his head. He was really too tired to try to figure him out now. All he wanted to do was sleep. He stripped off the rest of his clothes and then picked up the pajama pants that were folded neatly at the foot of the bed. Black satin. Very exotic, just like their owner, Alec thought. He slipped them on, having never worn satin pajamas before, and found he quite liked the feel of the cool material against his skin. He pulled back the quilt and got into bed, turning out the lamp. Normally he had trouble sleeping in a strange bed, and this one certainly qualified as strange, but he was just too worn out to think about it and he was out to it the second he closed his eyes.

Alec was riding his bike through the trees. He was following Jace and he knew Jace was going too fast. He was calling out to him but the noise of the bikes and the helmets were muffling his voice. He could see a deep raven up ahead of them and he started to panic, knowing Jace was going to go off the edge if he didn’t slow down. He revved the bike and tried to get closer to him but it didn’t seem to matter how fast he rode, he couldn’t catch him. He was practically screaming Jace’s name, trying to get him to stop or at least slow down but nothing was working. The edge of the raven was getting closer by the second and the next thing he knew Jace had reached its edge. His heart almost stopped as he saw Jace flying off it, his bike seemed to hang in mid air for a few seconds before it started to drop. Alec screamed out to his friend again. He flew up from the pillows, his breath coming in hard rasping gasps. He was a lather of sweat and staring wildly around him. 

For a few seconds he was disorientated, seeing the unfamiliar room but then it came back to him. He slumped forward, realising it had been a dream, more of a night mare really. He closed his eyes and concentrated on getting his breathing back to normal and his heart rate down. It must have been the worry over Jace’s accident that had triggered the night mare. That and the strange turn their camping trip had taken. When Alec had relaxed a little more he opened his eyes and started to lean back against the pillows once more. But he suddenly sat up, his eyes flying to the corner of the room near the fire place. No, he couldn’t of seen what he thought he had. It must be the remains of the dream still affecting him. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. There was enough moon light coming into the room from the gap in the drapes that he could see the corner was empty. He let out a breath and lay back down, closing his eyes again. For one crazy second he had though he had seen Magnus standing there, watching him. But obviously there was no one there. He was just allowing this whole situation to get to him. He drifted off to sleep a few minutes later.

He didn’t hear the sound of the bedroom door softly open and then close once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Alec managed to pass the rest of the night peacefully and woke the next morning reasonably rested. He had no idea what time it was so he had a quick shower and came back into the bedroom to find a clean pair of jeans and a t shirt waiting for him. He had to hand it to Magnus, he certainly catered to your every need. He was surprised to find the jeans fit well but the t shirt was a little on the tight side for him.   
He went to gather up his bike gear but discovered them gone from the end of the bed where he had left them the night before. Alec frowned and looked around the room. Maybe he had been more tired than he had thought. He checked the floor at the foot of the bed and then underneath it. Nothing. A quick search of the rest of the room failed to find his gear so he grabbed his boots, which were at least, still there and headed down the stairs. 

He was heading back towards the kitchen to see if either Raphael or Magnus were in there when Magnus suddenly appeared from a set of doors to his left, giving him a start.

“Good morning Alexander, I trust you slept well?” He asked, smiling. 

Alec really had no idea why he insisted on calling him by his full name, even when he had told him to call him Alec. Usually only his parents called him Alexander and that was only when he was in trouble over something. But if he was honest with himself about it, he kind of liked the way it seemed to roll off Magnus’ tongue in that smooth silky voice of his. 

“Yeah, I did, thanks.” The words seem to come out automatically before he suddenly remembered the dream that had troubled him. Not to mention the vision he had had of Magnus in his room but he didn’t want to elaborate on either with Magnus. 

“Ah, I seem to be missing………” he started.

“Your other clothes? I got Raph to wash them for you when he left the jeans and t shirt for you. I hope you don’t mind. I see they fit you well.” Alec saw Magnus’ eyes roam over him from head to toe, his eyes lingering a little longer than necessary when they reached his chest. He could feel his face heating in self- consciousness. He shifted his weight nervously.   
Magnus seem to snap out of his daze and cleared his throat.

“We are having breakfast on the terrace this morning, won’t you join me?” Magnus gestured for him to go through the two glass doors. 

A covered terrace with a large out door table that was laden with food stood before him. It reminded Alec of an all you can eat buffet at a fancy restaurant. Usually breakfast for him was a cup of coffee and if he had time maybe a piece of toast  
.  
“Wow, do you eat like this every morning?” He asked as he took a seat.

“I must admit we don’t. It’s usually coffee and bagels in the kitchen for Raph and myself but we wanted to make it more of an occasion seeing as we have a guest.” Magnus took the chair to his left and picked up the coffee pot and poured two cups.

“Please, dig in. Help yourself to however much you’d like. You must be hungry this morning after only having a sandwich last night.”

He was right. Alec loaded his plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and even a couple of hash browns. He noticed that Magnus had only fruit on his plate.

“Don’t tell me you’re not having any of this?” he asked him.

“I already have. I’m an early riser, I’m afraid so this is more like brunch for me. But eat up. Don’t mind me.”

The food was delicious and after loading his plate for a second time with pancakes, Alec was finally full.  
He sat back in the chair, sipping the coffee and looking out over the grounds of Magnus’ house.

“You sure have a big backyard.” He said.

“Five acres worth in fact. It was originally bigger but over the years the grounds were cut back for practicality sake. This is more than enough for me.” Magnus told him.

“You must be a keen gardener to be able to maintain it.”

“I must confess I do love my rose garden. It relaxes me to be able to get out among the bushes and tend them. Do you have a garden at all?”

“No, I’ve got a small apartment in the city and I could probably manage to kill a plastic plant.” Magnus gave a chuckle.

“How about a tour? If, you want to that is?” he asked.

“I really should be getting to the hospital to see Jace. He’s probably driving the doctor crazy about letting him out.”

“I took the liberty of phoning this morning before you got up and he tells me that he is still sleeping soundly and should be ready for release this afternoon.” 

Alec was a little surprised that Magnus would think to do that but it was nice of him all the same.

“Oh ok, in that case, yeah, let’s do it.” 

They rose from the table and down the steps. Alec followed Magnus down the paved pathway which led them through the expanse of the manicured lawn and down to the large rose beds. He couldn’t help but notice the stylish attire that his host wore this morning. A deep blue buttoned shirt which clung to a well- toned frame was topped by a richly embroidered waistcoat. Black tailored pants hung from his hips and once again he wore a pair of black boots, these ones were plainer than the pair from the night before. And my God, how good did he smell. Whatever his cologne was Alec would of bet it would cost a fortune. But then, Magnus looked like he could afford it. 

“I’m afraid you’re not seeing the roses at their best. They’ve nearly finished blooming at this time of year and are starting to look a bit rangy. You will have to come back in the summer when they are at their best.” Magnus told him, looking at him from the corner of his eye, one eyebrow raised while plucking at a leaf.

“I dunno they look pretty good to me now but as I said, I’m no gardener. I’m sure we’ve invaded your privacy enough for one life time though, without wanting us back.” Alec said looking over the plants.

“Not at all, Alexander. I’ve enjoyed your company immensely. “

Alec smiled and felt his cheeks heating again. It was embarrassing how easily the man was making him blush.

“I find that hard to believe but thank you anyway.”

“Don’t feel that you have to bring Jace with you either. You’re more than welcome on your own.”   
Alec looked at Magnus, a small shock of surprise running though him. Magnus seemed to be focused on pulling a dried flower off one of the branches. Was that a thinly veiled invitation? And if it was, why would he want him back here? He was no one special.

“There’s another part of my garden that you might light to see. I haven’t been in it for a while though so I can’t vouch for its appearance but would you like to see it anyway?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah, sounds interesting.”   
Alec followed Magnus further into the garden and took the path to where it seemed to disappear into a wall. But the closer they got to the end of the path it became clear that here was indeed a concealed entrance. Alec followed Magnus through and then stopped dead in his tracks.   
They were standing in a walled garden that looked like something out of a fairy tale. The ground was carpeted in hundreds of brightly coloured flowers of all descriptions and their perfume wafted through the air as the sunn warmed their petals. A stream threaded its way through the garden, complete with a small wooden bridge which led to a grassed area where a huge leafy tree shaded a white wooden bench. It was completely magical.

“What do you think of my secret garden?” Magnus asked him.

Alec knew he must look like an idiot with his mouth open in surprise and his eyes wide but he could seem to help it.

“It’s fantastic. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” He managed to say after a few minutes.

“I’m glad you like it. Feel free to have a look around. I really need to spend more time out here. I do miss this place. It’s my sanctuary.”   
Magnus looked at the garden like a proud parent might look at a child. Alec followed the path further in and went over the little bridge, looking down into the water to see the sleek bodies of large multi coloured fish gliding through the water.

“They are Japanese Koi. They represent luck and perseverance in adversity and strength of purpose. They are also meant to bring good fortune as well. And if nothing else the little buggers are as hardy as hell and easy to look after.” 

“They’re great. So beautiful” Alec said, watching them from the bridge.  
Magnus came to join him. Alec suddenly became very aware of his closeness. He felt his heart rate ramp up and his skin was tingling where his arm was touching his. These feelings were all very new territory for him. No one had ever had such an effect on him before, including Lydia. He left the bridge and headed for the wooden bench under the tree. From this spot he could see the whole garden. The sound of the water babbling in the stream, butterflies flitting from flower to flower and the smell of their perfume all combined to make the scene very special. Magnus sat down beside him, elegantly folding one leg over the other.

“I don’t know about the roses, but I’d sure come back to see this place again.” Alec said.

“As, I said, you’d be more than welcome.” Magnus replied. 

“Thank you for showing it to me, it truly is special.”

Magnus smiled at him. Alec found himself looking back, returning the smile. His face grew serious. He felt so drawn to this man. Everything about him screamed for his attention. The shape of his eyes, the curve of his lips, the slope of his neck down to his broad shoulders, the biceps, straining the material of the tight shirt and his narrow waist, which seemed to beg Alec to slide his arms around it. He could feel himself starting to shake with nerves. Internally, he was waging a war over how he was feeling. He felt guilty about his obvious attraction to another man and it clashed badly with the underlying feelings of excitement at what might happen next. It was something he’d never experienced before and it was all hitting him at once. Who the hell was Magnus Bane and why did he make him feel like this? It was almost too much to deal with. Alec swallowed hard as Magnus moved closer to him and slowly reached out a hand and ran it down the side of his face. It left a burning trail in its wake, making Alec shiver, in spite of the heat he felt. Alec could feel his pulse quicken.

“You’re the special one, Alexander. I knew it from the first time I laid eyes on you. You don’t have to hide yourself with me like you do with your friend. I know what you’re feeling.” He said softly, gently rubbing his hand up Alec’s arm.

“How can you know what I’m feeling or who I am? You only met me last night? I don’t even know myself.” Alec confessed and he looked down at his feet.   
Magnus put two fingers under his chin and gently forced him to face him.

“You might say I’ve been around for a while and I have an instinct for it. Especially someone who has been hiding their light under a bushel for a long time.”

“More like hiding in the closest behind a bush.” 

“It’s time for you to shine that light, Alexander. It’s too beautiful to be kept hidden.”   
Magnus leaned in carefully and softly brushed his lips to Alec’s. He felt the touch go from his head to his toes. He’d never experienced anything like it before. Magnus kissed him again and this time pressed harder against his mouth, moving his lips apart. Alec felt himself respond and kissed him back, his eyes slowly closing. It was so gentle and soft and felt so good he wanted more. He lifted a hand to place it on Magnus’ neck to both steady himself and urge him on. It was like being given a glass of water after dying of thirst for a long time. Magnus felt Alec responding to the kiss and he deepened it, filling both of them with a liquid heat that was threatening to take them over. His hand reached up so he could weave his finger through that thick black hair, something they had been itching to do since last night.

Alec’s own hand travelled from Magnus’ neck to the back of his head, feeling the short spikes of his closely cropped hair. His other hand went to his chest, feeling the hard warm muscle beneath the fabric. God, he could stay like this forever. He’d never felt like this from kissing Lydia or any of the women Jace had set him up with. It had felt distant and impersonal with them. Now he knew what he had been missing and it was a revelation.   
Magnus gently pulled back from him and he felt himself chasing the kiss still wanting more. Magnus smiled back at him softly. His hand came up to cup his cheek and Alec leaned into his touch.

“Oh alexander, I had no idea I’d tapped into such a well of emotion. You have been repressed, haven’t you?” 

“You have no idea.” Alec breathed, looking back at Magnus with heavy lidded eyes.

“God, you’re so hot like this. I don’t think I can let you go.” Magnus whispered and his words filled Alec with even more want and he grabbed the front of his waist coat and pulled him back to his lips, eager to feel their softness again. Magnus was happy to comply but when they were both nearly breathless he was forced to break their connection once more. They sat back from each other, staring into each other’s eyes their breaths coming in hard pants. 

“We have to take this slow, Alexander. As much as I’m tempted to dive right into you, we need to use caution.” Magnus said eventually. He took Alec’s hand him his, rubbing small circles on the back of it with his thumb.

“What’s wrong with diving into the deep end? I’m pretty sure I could swim.” Magnus smiled at him.

“I’m sure you can, beautiful boy, but I’d rather this be a slow burn rather than risking that light of yours to flame out from too much too soon.” 

Alec felt like a small child that had been denied the candy he wanted.

“But how am I going to see you again? we have to go back today when Jace is released from the hospital.” 

“I wonder if I could talk that doctor into keeping him for a bit longer?” Magnus said, a grin on his face.

Alec looked back at him in surprise. ”Don’t tell me you talked the doctor into keeping him last night?”

“How else was I going to get you all to myself?” Magnus replied and he leaned forward to kiss him again.   
Alec supposed he should have been upset about it but he’d be damned if he wasn’t glad that he did.  
When they finally broke apart for the third time, Magnus stood up and reached for his hand. Alec took it, lacing his fingers with his and pressed himself up against Magnus firm body. He’d never wanted to be with anyone as much as he wanted this man.

“Come on, we have to head back. My powers of persuasion only went so far with that doctor and like Cinderella at the ball, we only have till midday.” 

“Cinderella had till midnight, actually.”

“Lucky girl.” Magnus said, grinning back at him.


	4. Chapter 4

Reluctantly, they both left the garden, hands still firmly linked together. Alec felt like he had become an entirely different person emerging from the hidden entrance. To of finally found someone with whom he could be his true self with and that he didn’t have to hide from or pretend with like feeling the sun on your face after a rainy day. But the time had flown by so fast and it felt like he had no sooner been given this gift that was being ripped from him again. The clouds were starting to gather once more. The thought filled him with sadness. Magnus seemed to sense this and he pulled them to a stop on the path.

“Hey, don’t look like that, Alexander. I know it’s going to be difficult but I’m going to send Raphael for you next Friday night. We can have the whole weekend together.”

He leaned in and kissed him gently. Alec didn’t think he could ever get enough of that mouth of his and the thought of waiting a whole week seemed like the cruelest form of torture. But if that’s what he had to do to see Magnus again, I had to put up with it.

“I don’t think I can go a whole week without seeing you again but I don’t have a choice, do it?” He leaned his forehead against Magnus’ closing his eyes. He smiled when he felt a kiss on the tip of his nose.

“Oh there are other choices. None that would be considered legal, however, and not very practical.” He said.  
He lifted Alec’s down turned face to his with a finger under his chin.

“It’ll be good to take things slowly, Alexander. Believe it or not, it’s been awhile since I’ve been with anyone and I’d hate to lose you just when things are starting to look hopeful.” Alec gave a sigh.

“Yeah I suppose your right. There is something to be said for having too much of a good thing.”

“I’m sure the next five days will fly by. You can leave me your number and I can call you or text you. We can even facetime if you like. I’ll give you my number as well.” Magnus started to go again but stopped.

“What is it?” Alec asked.

“Alexander, what about the girl you are seeing? Have you thought about how you are going to handle that situation?”

Alec felt like a bucket of cold water had just been dumped on him.

“It was never anything serious. I was really only with her because of Jace and Clary. I’ll talk to her this week.”

“I feel bad for putting you in this situation Alexander. I don’t want to cause an problems with your friends.”

“You didn’t put me here Magnus, I did that on my own. Jace doesn’t know this part of me exists.” Magnus looked shocked by this news.

“But shouldn’t you tell him the way you feel?”

“Yeah, I suppose. I’ve managed to hide it from him for so long it’s sort of just become the norm for me. I guess I’m just scared of losing his friendship if I do.”

“Alexander, if he’s as good a friend as you say he is, he’ll understand.”

Magnus was making too much sense about this for him to deal with at the moment. The whole reality of the situation was starting to crash around him and he didn’t feel ready for that yet. He wanted to feel that sunny feeling like he had when he was in the garden kissing Magnus.

They entered the house and walked back through to the front door. Magnus reached for the handle but before he could open the door, Alec pushed him up against it and crashed his mouth down on his. He wanted his final moment with Magnus to be about this, not the logistics of everything. Magnus kissed him back with equal force but then put his hands on his chest and gently forced him back. He looked deeply into Alec’s eyes and Alec wanted to melt at his feet.

“Slowly, Alexander, remember? Your friend is waiting for you. Go. I’ll see you on Friday. We'later, ok?” He put his hand to Alec’s face and gave him one final quick kiss before turning to open the door.

Alec followed Magnus outside and was shocked to see Jace’s car, complete with the trailer loaded with their bikes and gear, parked out the front.

“How……..”

“I had Raph get your things earlier while we were, ah, occupied elsewhere. I thought it might save you some time.” Magnus explained.

“Thanks so much. I appreciate it.” Alec gave a deep sigh and knew the time he had been dreading was finally upon him.

Magnus reached into a pocket of his pants and then handed Alec a plain black business card. It white print was Magnus’ name and phone number.

“As promised.” He said. Alec dove into the car and in search of a pen and some paper. He found what he was looking for and scribbled his phone number down and handed it over to Magnus.

Magnus put his hands on either side of his waist and leaned up to give him a final kiss that left Alec feeling weak kneed and breathless. God, how was he going to survive a week without this? The man was fast becoming his own brand of a highly addictive drug. 

He reluctantly broke free of Magnus touch, missing it the very second he let him go and went to the car and got in and started the engine. Magnus gave him a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes which looked as sad as his own.

Alec headed off, back to reality.


	5. Chapter 5

Of course, Jace was lurching up and down out the front of the hospital on a set of crutches when he pulled up out the front.

“Shit, where have you been? I wanted out of that place an hour ago.” He grumbled, climbing into the front seat beside Alec after loading the crutches into the back.

“ Nice to see you too.” Alec said, giving him a look. If Jace was anything, patient wasn’t one of them.

“How’s the ankle feel?”

“It fucking hurts actually. They kept me doped till this morning but it’s wearing off. Even gave me the day off work tomorrow.” Jace looked down to his heavily bandaged foot.

“Well, make sure you do have the day off. Your phone is in the glove compartment, call Pops and tell him right away.”

“Yes, mother, whatever you say.” Jace said, sarcastically.   
Alec knew from personal experience over the years that Jace Wayland didn’t make the best patient when he was sick. This was going to be worse because he wasn’t actually sick just injured. Luckily it was a rare occurrence.   
After Jace had actually rang their employer about what had happened they settled in for the trip back. Alec had hoped that Jace would want to sleep, thus avoiding any questions about what he had gotten up to while he was in the hospital but Jace was wide awake and they had only just hit the highway before he started.

“So, where did you go last night?”

“I actually stayed at the house with Magnus.” Jace gave him a look.

“Would you like to clarify that for me?” Alec frowned at him. He was going to have to watch what he said.

“Magnus offered me his spare bed so I didn’t have to go back to the camp in the dark.”

“ Awww, did little Alec make a new fwend?.” Alec could feel himself losing patience very quickly.

“What are you getting at? The man was kind enough to give me a bed for the night and breakfast this morning, so what.” 

“Ok, ok, keep your hair on, snappy Tom. Boy, you sure are grumpy, didn’t you sleep well last night?”

“Actually no, I didn’t. I was worrying about you, doofus.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Jace went quiet after that. 

The rest of the trip was in relevant silence and they arrived back in front of Jace’s place late that afternoon. He unloaded the gear so that Jace wouldn’t have to do it and then jumped on his bike.

“Sorry this weekend was a disaster. We’ll have to organise it again, minus the sprained ankle.” Jace said to him.

“It wasn’t that bad. I thought it was pretty good actually, even with your stuntman routine. I’ll come around tomorrow after work and make sure you’re not climbing the walls.” Alec told him.  
Jace laughed and gave him a friendly clap on the back before hobbling off towards his door.

Alec arrived back at his place just on dark and threw himself down on his sofa. It was the first time he allowed himself to think about Magnus. On the way into the hospital, he had done his best to block it out so nothing would show on his face when he saw Jace.  
He leaned his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes, bringing back the feeling of those soft lips on his. He could feel that heat rising in him once more. God, it had felt so good. Not awkward like it did when he kissed Lydia. 

It blew his mind how things had happened so quickly. He never did anything without thinking things through first but he had just plunged headfirst into this and as much as the logic part of his brain had been screaming at him to stop he had completely ignored it. 

He knew he couldn’t completely disregard the reality of it all but he just wanted to curl up with himself and just think about how good it had made him feel, even if it had only been for a short time. Magnus had been right about needing to talk to Lydia and he actually picked up his phone to call her number but hesitated, his finger poised over the screen showing her name.

He just wasn’t ready. He just wanted more time alone with his thoughts of Magnus. He kicked off his boots and curled his feet up onto the sofa, laying his head on a pillow.   
He must of drifted off because he was suddenly aware of his phone ringing right beside his face. He grabbed it and answered before he had even looked at the caller ID.

“Hello?” he said sleepily.

“Alexander, I didn’t wake you did I?” Alec flew up from the sofa, suddenly wide awake at the sound of Magnus’ smooth voice.

“ Magnus! No, not at all. Well, yeah, you did but that’s fine.”

“You sound surprised. Didn’t you believe me when I said I would call you?”

“No, well, yeah I did. Maybe.” Alec stumbled.

“You cut me, Alexander. Of course I was going to call you. This place isn’t the same without you.”

Alec gave a laugh. “I find that hard to believe. We only met yesterday. How can you miss me that much.”

“It’s a mystery, that’s for sure but it happens to be true. Things have shifted for me.” His voice was soft and low. Shit, it was going to be a long five days.

“Yeah, I feel the same way. It’s going to be hard going back to reality.” Magnus didn’t reply straight away.

“Magnus? Are you still there?”

“Yes I’m here. Haven’t you talked to Jace yet? I thought you would do it on your way back.”

How did the man know what he had been thinking.  
Alec gave a sigh. “No, I haven’t yet. I’m just avoiding it, I guess.”

“Alexander, he deserves to know. So does that poor girl you’ve been stringing along. It’s not fair for them.”

Once again, Magnus was making too much sense.  
“Yeah I know. I’ll do it this week. Can we talk about something else? Like what we are going to do next weekend." Alec changed the subject.

“I was hoping you had come up with something.” 

“we can indeed. What did you have in mind?”

“We could have a picnic in the garden if the weather stays good.”

“Sounds good to me. Can we stay there for the whole weekend?”

Magnus laughed. “You liked the place that much? I think it would get a little cold at night.”

“I could think of ways of keeping warm.” Alec heard Magnus take in a deep breath on the other end of the phone. He was even a little surprised at himself for saying it.

“Now what did I say about taking things slowly? You need to behave yourself, Alexander.”

“I don’t want to behave myself. I’ve been good for too long now.”

“I think you are confusing being good with being repressed. They are two totally different things. Both need to be handled properly, however.”

“Can you not talk about handling me, it’s too frustrating when you’re two and a half hours away.”

He heard Magnus give a deep chuckle.  
“Oh Alexander, what have I done to you? A few hours with me and you’ve gone from one extreme to the other. All you need to do now is come out to your friends and family and you’ll never look back.”

Alec felt a chill run up his spine at the thought. Where Jace might understand he doubted his parents and his sister would. 

“Alexander, I’m losing you again, I can feel it. It will be ok. I promise.”

“I wish I had your confidence about it.”

“Tell Jace first, then your family that way you can take him with you for support.”

“Couldn’t you come with me instead?”

“I could but I think Jace would be a better choice. Having me there would be like hitting them over the head with it. They need to digest your news first. Turning around after laying that on them and saying oh by the way, this is my boyfriend might be pushing it.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. So, you’re my boyfriend? Now who’s moving too fast.” He gave a chuckle and sat back against the sofa. 

“I’d better go so you can get back to sleep”. Magnus seemed to dodge the boyfriend remark.” I’ll be in touch, Alexander. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Bye.” The phone went dead.   
Why did he have the feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.

It was weird to be at work the next day without Jace. Alec was so used to him being there working beside him. Jace had probably only had one other sick day since they began working there so he could only imagine what he was up to at home. 

About mid- morning he heard his phone alert him that someone had texted him. He gave a quick look around the workshop before wiping his hands on some rag to see who it was. Pops had a thing about answering phone while they were working. He couldn’t see him anywhere so he decided to take the chance. He grabbed the phone from his pocket.

"Hey, handsome. What are you up to?"

It was Magnus, he recognized the number from when he rang him the night before.

"I’m at work. Don’t you have anything better to do?"

"Of course not. What could be better than texting you?"

Alec felt himself grinning at the screen like an idiot.

"Can I talk to you later? My boss has a thing about phones in the work shop."

"I can see you in that workshop now. Getting all greasy and sweaty. Wish I could be there to clean you off."

Alec gave a choked laugh. He knew his face was getting red.  
“Lightwood! Tell me that’s a wrench in your hand, not a phone!” Alec eyes flew up seeing his boss standing in the door way of the office, hands on his hips. Oh shit.

"I’ve been busted. Talk later."

His fingers ran across the screen before he shoved the phone back in his pocket and he turned his attention back to the car he was working on.

“Tell your girlfriend to call you after hours from now on.” Pops grumbled and them went back into the office. If he only knew the truth, Alec thought as he worked.


	6. Chapter 6

He went around to Jace’s place as he said he would after work, expecting him to be out of his head from boredom. Instead, he was surprised to see him laying back on the ratty old sofa he owned, his bandaged foot propped up on a pillow with Clary sitting beside him, handing him a drink. Yeah, he was really suffering.

“You look like you’re doing it really tough.” Alec said.

"What can i say, Clary wanted to practice her nursing skills. Who am I to deny her that?" Jace grinned, stretching his arms along the back of the sofa.

Alec took a seat on the floor on the other side of the scared coffee table that held Jace’s injured foot. Unlike chose to spend as little as possible on the meager furnishings in his place. Most of the pieces coming from garage sales or charity shops. Most of Jace’s spare money went on his social life.

“I was just telling Clary about that weird guy we met.” Jace said.

“His name’s Magnus and he wasn’t that weird.” Alec said.

“Are you kidding me? I’m surprised you didn’t become some cult sacrifice or something. Who else lives out in the middle of the woods?”

“Someone who likes his privacy. If it wasn’t for Magnus you would have been in a lot more pain than you are now.” Alec reminded him.

“Yeah, maybe. He was still weird though. Glad we won’t have to see either of them again.”

“Either of them? Who else was there?” Clary asked.

“He had some other guy living with him. The man was so stiff you could of taken him surfing. Gave me the creeps.”

“Need I remind you it was Raphael that drove us into the hospital? I think you need to be a little bit grateful. Not everyone would have been that nice.” Jace gave him a look.

“Well, excuse me. I had no idea you and the dastardly duo had become such close friends. What exactly did you get up to while I wasn’t there?” 

Alec felt himself getting angry. He didn’t want him putting Magnus and Raphael down about anything they had done. He should be nicer about it. He got up.  
“It looks like you have everything you need here. I’ll go so you can keep getting nursed back to health.” He headed for the door.

“Hey, don’t be a dick, get back here. We were just going to order pizza. I’m sorry to dis your new friends. Obviously you spent more time with them than I did and yes, they were nice to do what they did for me and you. I was just messing around. Come on, pull up a piece of floor and stay.” Alec hesitated for a couple of seconds before turning back and sitting down again. 

He knew he was being over sensitive about Magnus and he had to watch it but he’d be damned if he’d let Jace make fun of him, no matter how good a friend he was.

The week was dragging its feet for Alec, in spite of the fact that Magnus had called him each night. Jace had come limping back to work the next day. Not even Clary’s over the top nursing skills had been enough to keep him away any longer. Alec just prayed that Magnus didn’t text him during his lunch hours, but luckily he didn’t. 

It was Thursday before Alec realised he still hadn’t called Lydia. He knew Magnus would ask him about it when he saw him the next night and he made a mental note to do it when he got home. As it happened, Lydia arrived at his work around lunch time, carrying a couple of bags with his favourite Thai take away dishes. The whole thing threw him for a loop and he found himself avoiding the subject once more.

“So, what will we do this weekend? I thought we could see that new action movie that just came out.” Lydia suggested as they sat in the park opposite the garage eating their lunch. Alec felt his skin prickling.

“Ah, I can’t this weekend. My sister Isabelle wants me to go to their place for the weekend. One of the kid’s birthdays.” He told her. Lydia had never met Izzy or her husband Simon and their two kids Max and Jem so he felt safe using them as an excuse.

“Oh, ok. Maybe next weekend then.” Lydia sounded disappointed. Alec knew he should tell her that he didn’t want to see her any longer and he actually opened his mouth to say something when she started gathering up the empty take out containers and shoving them in to a plastic bag.

“I really should be getting back to work. I’ll catch up with you later.” And she left without another word. Alec went to call her back but the words died on his tongue. He knew she thought he was neglecting her and she was right. He was being an awful coward by not saying anything.

Lydia must of gone running to her best friend with her boyfriend issues, because Alec had no sooner gotten in his door that evening when his phone rang.

“Ok, so what did you say to Lydia to upset her?” Jace asked him from the other end.

“Don’t you ever say hello? I didn’t say anything to her, why?”

“Cause Clary is hear chewing me out over having an insensitive best friend cause Lydia told her you gave her the big brush off after not calling her all week.”  
Shit, he knew that this would come back to bite him in the ass.

“All I said was that I had to go to Izzy and Simon’s place tomorrow for the weekend.”

“when were you gonna tell me that? What’s up with you man? You’ve been weird all week.” Alec felt slightly panicked. 

“What? No I haven’t. I’m sorry ok? Izzy only called me last night and I didn’t think to tell you.” Please, Please, please, let Jace accept his excuse. 

“Yeah ok, whatever. Are you sure they didn’t do some weird mind control or something on you in that house last weekend?” 

“Yes I’m sure. Tell Clary to tell Lydia I’m sorry.”

“I think that would be better coming from you, bro.” Alec had to admit he was right. He decided to call her and at least apologize.

“See you tomorrow.’ He told Jace and ended the call.   
He took a deep breath and sat down on the sofa. This was it. He had to bite the bullet. He found Lydia’s number and pushed the screen, waiting for her to answer but it just rang out, going to voice mail. He tried again but got the same result. He didn’t understand women at all. They whinged about you not calling them then they don’t answer their phones. Alec seriously thought about texting her but he didn’t want to be one of those guys. When you told someone you didn’t want to see them anymore you needed to do it face to face, no matter how hard it was. He threw his phone down on the sofa next to him and rubbed his eyes. All this could have been avoided if he had been such a God damned chicken shit and said something at lunch time.   
A few minutes later, his phone rang and he picked it up not looking at the caller ID.

“Lydia I…………”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Alexander. Do you want me to hang up?” Shit, it was Magnus. The man had the worst timing.

“No not at all.”

“Is there something wrong? You sound troubled.” Here we go, confession time.

“I just tried to call Lydia to tell her I couldn’t see her anymore and she’s not answering her phone.”

“Leaving your run a little late, aren’t you? I thought you were going to do that earlier this week?”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been avoiding it, I guess.” He heard Magnus give a stern sigh.

“Now Alexander, what did I say to you? You need to talk to that poor girl. It’s not fair to her.”

“I know. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

“Not try, do it. I want you here with a clear conscious tomorrow night.”

“I’m just a big chicken when it comes to doing this sort of stuff.”

“Oh I’m sure your big, Alexander, but chickens don’t really cross my mind.” Alec could feel himself blushing. Magnus really had a way with words.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow night.” He said.

“Neither can I, handsome. Raph will be at your place at six on the dot. See you then.”  
The line went dead. Alec had wanted to ask him how Raphael knew where he lived but that was going to have to wait till tomorrow night now.   
He found it hard to get to sleep that night. His mind troubled with thoughts of Lydia and then his weekend with Magnus. 

It was another chance to feel the sun on his face once again and he couldn’t wait.


	7. Chapter 7

Two and a half hours seemed like an eternity to Alec. But the minute they turned down the drive way, he could feel his heart beat ramping up. Raphael parked directly out the front of the car and at that exact minute, the front door flew open and Magnus was there, pulling open the car door. Alec launched himself at him, wrapping himself around his firm body like he was afraid he would suddenly disappear on him.

Magnus buried his face into his neck, peppering the spot with kisses. Alec pulled back and putting his hands either side of his face, slammed his mouth to his. Stars went off behind his closed eye lids and he wasn’t sure if it was from the force of the kiss or because of it. They stayed locked together for some time before the need for a deep breath became too pressing. 

“That was the best hello kiss I’ve ever had.” Alec said, breathlessly.

“I have to agree with you on that one, Alexander. So, did you miss me?” Magnus smirked back at him.

“You’re kidding, right?”

Magnus gave a laugh and then arm in arm they went inside.  
After dinner, Magnus took Alec’s hand and led him to a cosy living room. Tall book shelves lined two of the walls and above a fireplace, where a small fire had been lit, was a large flat screen TV. 

“You watch TV?” Alec asked Magnus as they sat down together on a large over stuffed sofa.

“Of course I do, Alexander, why wouldn’t I?” Magnus seemed amused by what he had just said.

“I dunno, I just sort of had you pictured as more of a book worm, that’s all.”

“Ah, hello? Can you not see what my shelves are full of? But I am a sucker for a good movie, I have to admit.” 

“What’s your favourite?”

“Oh, that’s a hard question. I have too many to name just one. Sappy romances are always a favourite, I’m afraid. I think my favourite would be Pride and Prejudice, though. I’ve always had a thing for Mr Darcy.” Alec couldn’t help laughing. Magnus pretended to look offended.

“You’re laughing at me, but have you ever seen it?” Alec shook his head.

“Well, that has to change right now.”

He got up and grabbed a remote from the mantel piece and then went over to a desk that stood near the book shelves and picked up a tablet. He turned on the TV and then after pressing the screen of the tablet and then going back near the door to turn off the lights, the movie began playing on the screen.  
Magnus pulled the large padded stool that was in front of the sofa towards the edge of it and created a soft space on which to rest their legs. Magnus pulled Alec into him, so his head was resting on his chest and put and arm around his shoulders.

Alec closed his eyes and took in a deep breath full of what he had come to think of as Magnus’ signature scent. It was woodsy but had a spicy undertone to it. He loved it. It was as unique as he was. He laid a hand against Magnus’ chest, feeling the warmth of him through the shirt he was wearing.

He could feel Magnus running his hand lazily up and down the top of his arm before he leaned his cheek against the top of his head. Alec had never felt so relaxed and contented before. He had needed this in his life. He knew his parents loved him but they had never been very affectionate with either he or Isabelle. He found that the act of a simple touch from Magnus was like a balm for his soul. He snuggled in closer and put a soft kiss on his chest.

“I thought you were watching the movie?” Magnus said, lifting his head from his.

“I was, but I found something I wanted to watch even more.” Alec said and he tilted his face up to his and Magnus gently brushed his lips to his.

It didn’t take long for their kisses to get away from them. They had started off sweet and gentle but quickly turned urgent and wanting. The movie was forgotten as they wrapped themselves in each other, stretching out on the sofa, legs and arms a tangled mess. They didn’t come up for air until Magnus felt Alec starting to unbutton his shirt. He grabbed Alec’s hands.

“No, beautiful boy, not now. We have to pace ourselves, remember?” He panted, looking into his face. He broke out into a wide grin and shook his head.

“You’re a hot mess, Mr Lightwood, do you know that?” he said, softly, looking at Alec’s heavy lidded eyes and puffy pink lips. “What have I done to you?”

It was comments like that that made Alec want to crawl back into himself and ducked his head but Magnus brought his face back up to meet his.

“I don’t want you shy around me Alexander. I’ve told you, I want to see that light shine.” 

“I guess it’s because I’ve done it for so long, it’s not easy to stop.”  
He almost did it again but stopped himself just in time. Alec leaned up and kissed him, that liquid heat starting to pool in his lower body again, fuelling his confidence levels. He could feel Magnus starting to respond to him again but he had more will power than Alec did and pulled back once more. He brought a finger up to lay it against Alec’s lips.

“If you don’t behave yourself, I’m sending you to your room.” He told him, his brow furrowing.

“As long as you come with me, that’s fine by me.” Alec said, grinning back. He went to dodge the finger but Magnus put his hands to his chest, stopping him.  
“How about you tell me about yourself.” Magnus suggested, straightening up on the sofa. Talking about himself was the last thing he wanted to do but he knew Magnus was serious about taking their time with things. 

“I’m not all that interesting.” Alec told him, sitting up next to him, grabbing his hand, absently playing with the rings on his fingers.

“I have to disagree with that. I think you’re fascinating.”

Alec found himself telling Magnus about his family and his work and his interests. He seem to hang on each word even though to Alec it all sounded as dull as dish water.

“So, how about you? Are you going to tell me about yourself?”

Magnus looked uncomfortable with the idea.

“There’s not much to tell, I’m afraid. I’ve lived here for more ears than I care to remember, both my parents died a long time ago and I love my books and watching movies. End of story.”

Alec felt like he was getting the very condensed version of Magnus Bane, however.   
“How old are you?” he asked.

“Does it matter?”

“No. not really but……”

“Then don’t worry about it. Just know I’m older than you.”

“Yeah but how…………….”

Magnus stopped him by putting a kiss to his lips that left his whole body screaming for more. He could feel his hands reaching up to start unbuttoning his shirt once more but Magnus stilled his hands.

“What did I say about keeping your hands to yourself.” 

“Now where’s the fun in that?” Alec said softly and holding Magnus’ gaze started undoing the buttons once more. He had managed to get to about Magnus’ mid chest before he tried to halt him again.

“No, don’t go any further or I………..” 

“Or you’ll do what? Hum?”

Alec bent forward and started placing soft kisses into the opening of his shirt and he heard Magnus give a soft sigh, his hands going to either side of his head, fingers running through his hair. He smiled to himself. Good, he’d won this round

Working his way up to the base of his throat, he was about to plunge his lips to that delicious looking tanned skin when he happened to look up. He froze half way on his intended destination and heard his breath hitch. A shiver ran over his skin.  
No, it wasn’t possible. He couldn’t of seen what he thought he had. Couldn’t he?

“What? What’s wrong?” Magnus asked, frowning.

Alec shook his head. It had happened again. He was sure he had just seen that flash of golden amber in his eyes like he had the first night they had met. He didn’t want to say anything to Magnus, though. He’d probably think he was crazy. He decided to brush it off. But it had unnerved him, all the same.

“Nothing. Just the fire light playing tricks with me, I think.” He was waiting for him to ask what sort of tricks but he didn’t. He straightened up and then gently kissed him.

“When things start to get so far gone that you’re seeing things, then it’s time to go to bed.” He said, grabbing the TV remote and turning it off. 

“Whose bed are we talking about?” Alec said, grabbing him by the back of the shirt as he stood up.

Magnus turned around and pulled him up beside him. He smiled at him and then kissed him lightly.

“Our own, Alexander. You really need to learn some self-control.” He told him.

“I can’t see that happening, now I’ve met you. You’ve opened a door for me and I want to run through it” He said, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling at his neck.

“You need to learn to walk before you can run.” Magnus said, his voice soft. He was letting Alec’s mouth get to him again.

He felt Magnus tilting his head to give him better access and he chanced a playful nip on his skin. He was sure he heard a noise that sounded like a purr, come from Magnus and he smiled.

“Now who needs the self- control lessons?” He whispered. Magnus pulled away abruptly.

“You are proving to be a challenge, beautiful boy, but I’m determined to do this right. Good night, Alexander.” Alec gave him a sad look.

“What? No kiss goodnight? No bedtime story? How about tucking me in?” He wiggled his eyebrows at him and he thought he could see Magnus’ resolve weakening.

“Oh, you have to stop. There’s only so much I can take. Come.” 

He grabbed Alec’s hand and left the room, heading for the stairs. Alec could feel his hopes rising as they reached the door to the room he had slept in the weekend before. Magnus reached around and turned the handle, pushing the door open. This time the lamps were already on and the quilt had been pulled back. Magnus took Alec’s face in his hands and joined his lips to his. This kiss felt different somehow though. It was still good but Alec could feel any thoughts that were in his head leaving him, making him feel very relaxed and zoned out. Magnus pulled back and he wanted to sway on his feet.

“Good night, Alexander.” He vaguely heard Magnus say against his lips and then he was alone.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning Alec woke feeling more rested than he had in ages. He lay in bed for a few minutes, hands behind his head, thinking about how good it felt to know that he had two full days to spend with Magnus. 

He loved that he had finally found someone that he could be himself with. He felt the smile fade from his lips as he thought about the one person with whom he would of loved to of shared this information with, Jace. He had thought about telling him countless times over the course of their friendship, but there was always something that stopped him. It wasn’t so bad when it had been just the two of them but now the girls were involved, things were more complicated. He knew he had to tell him about how he really felt now he had met Magnus and it had to be soon. He didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to hide it from him. Especially if he was going to be spending weekends out here or if Magnus ever came to his place. He scrubbed his hands over his face and shook his head. Enough with the serious stuff, he intended to make his time with Magnus all about pleasure.

After showering and putting on some clean clothes, he headed down stairs and out to the terrace.  
Magnus was standing at the top step, gazing out over his garden, a cup of coffee in his hand. He looked lost in thought. Alec came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, kissing the back of his neck. Magnus jumped in surprise, almost spilling his coffee, but he reached behind him to put his hand on Alec’s head, his fingers getting lost in his hair. A soft smile on his lips.

“Good morning, handsome. I trust you slept well.” He asked.

“Really well. Must be all this fresh air.”

“Did you have sweet dreams?”

“I didn’t actually, sweet or any other kind.” Magnus dropped his hand and turned in his arms, frowning.

“Well, that hardly seems fair when thoughts of you filled my head for most of the night. I’ll just have to try to create some memories that you won’t be able to forget, then.”

“I haven’t forgotten a thing but what did you have in mind?”

“How about that picnic in the secret garden?” Alec smiled at him and kissed him.

“Sounds good to me. Ready when you are.” He grabbed Magnus hand and went to pull him down the steps. Magnus laughed.

“I think eight in the morning is a little early for a picnic and besides, you haven’t had breakfast yet. Come on, let sit at the table.”

Once again, the table held numerous dishes of delicious food and they spent a pleasant couple of hours talking while Alec ate. Once again Magnus only had a few pieces of fruit. Alec wondered how early he actually did get up.   
Raphael appeared while they were still there together. Magnus had reached across the table and was leisurely tracing his fingers over Alec’s palm. As Raphael reached across to pick up one of the dishes, Alec noticed him frown when he saw their hands. He pulled his hand away instinctively, suddenly feeling self- conscious. Raphael finished collecting the other plates and left. Magnus looked at him, concerned.

“What’s wrong Alexander?” As much as Raphael’s seemingly disapproving look had bothered him, he didn’t want to get him into trouble with Magnus. He had been pretty nice to him, up till this point. 

“Nothing. I’m fine.” But Magnus wasn’t buying it.

“You don’t have to hide yourself here, you know that. There’s no one here that will judge you.”

“I know. It’s fine, really.” Magnus didn’t seem too convinced but must of decided to drop the subject.

“I have a few things I need to do before we go to the garden. Can you amuse yourself for a little while?”

“How long will you be?”

“As quick as I can, I promise.” They both stood up from the table and Magnus came around to him, his hands going to Alec’s waist. He looked deep into his eyes before putting his lips to his. Alec felt himself holding back a little, still thinking about Raphael but the longer Magnus kissed him the further those thoughts were driven away.

“Hummm, we have to stop, or I’ll never get any work done.” Magnus said, between kisses and finally dropped his hands and turned to walk inside but then stopped.

“If you’d like to burn off some of that excess energy off, I do have a gym.”

Alec grinned back at him.

“Yeah, I think that would probably be a good idea.” He and Jace usually found time to visit their gym back home, but since he had met Clarry their visits hadn’t been as regular as they should have been.

Magnus led him to a different part of the house and opened a door, revealing the most well equipped home gym Alec had ever seen. Magnus must really be into keeping fit, he thought, and he remembered how firm his chest had felt under his hands the night before. That would be a yes, then.

“Help yourself, but please don’t over-do it. I don’t want you wearing yourself out completely.” Magnus gave him a lopsided grin from the door way before he left.

Alec had really enjoyed himself on the various pieces of equipment around the room. He’d found a small sound system, complete with an I Pod. Curious as to what sort of music Magnus liked to listen to he turned it on to listen to it while he worked out. Most of the playlist was recent popular songs, which surprised him but there were the odd older ones as well. Another example of how unique Mr Bane was. 

He really got into it once he started, realising how much he had missed his visits to the gym with Jace. He worked his way around most of the machines, hard enough to make his shirt soaked with sweat. After a final twenty minutes or so on the elliptical bike, he decided to call it a day and go back up stairs and take another shower before they went on their picnic.  
He was heading out the door, stripping his wet shirt off over his head as he went when Raphael came around the corner. He nearly ran right into him. Alec felt himself freeze on the sport. He saw Raphael’s eyes go from his face to linger slightly longer than necessary on his bare chest. His face warmed immediately. Jesus, he was checking him out. 

“Sorry. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be in this part of the house.” Raphael said, quickly bring his eyes back to Alec’s heated face.

“No, I should have been watching where I was going. I was just heading back to my room for a shower.”

“There’s a shower off the gym, you know.”

“No, I didn’t know. I’ll remember that if I get to use it again.” Alec saw his eyes start to lower again but with a quick intake of breath, they returned to his face again, his mouth slightly curved.

“I’m fairly certain that you’ll be a regular visitor here, Alec. Magnus has always had good taste.” He walked off, disappearing into a door way. 

Alec was now totally confused. What the hell had he meant by that remark? And what was with the wandering eyes? Only an hour or so before hand he would of sworn the man didn’t like him. He shook his head and then headed for the stairs and to his room.

Half an hour later, he was back down stairs, feeling refreshed from his shower. He was just about to head into the living room to wait for Magnus when the man himself came out of a door to his left. He smiled at him and came over to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and brushing his lips to his quickly. He took in a deep breath.

“God, you smell good. Did you have fun in my gym?” He asked.

“I did actually. And I discovered something while I was there.”

“Really, and what was that?”

“that you have very interesting taste when it comes to music.” Magnus laughed.

“What can I say, I like what I like. And boy do I like what I see right in front of me.” His voice had gone deep for the last part of the sentence and Alec felt a shiver run through him. He bent his head and put his lips to his, the kiss replacing the shiver with heat. 

Vaguely, Alec heard a small cough.

“Your picnic is ready, Sir.”

Alec went to pull away but Magnus tightened his grip on him and kept kissing him. Alec felt uncomfortable doing this in front of the other man. Especially after their earlier conversation. He was still trying to make sense of that. Magnus lifted his head.

“Thank you Raph, just leave it there.” He placed the basket on the floor and left, without another word. “I told you I don’t want you to hold yourself back here, Alexander. That includes any time Raphael is around. He’s very understanding about our lifestyle.” 

“If you say so.” Alec wondered what he would say if he knew what had happened in the hall way. 

“I do. Come on, let’s go to our garden.”

They lay on the rug under the big shady tree. Lunch had been fantastic. The basket had been full of an array of finger food including smoked salmon and even caviar. Alec had never had either of them before but quite liked both. He was laying on his back, his head resting on Magnus’ chest. Magnus’ fingers were playing with his hair. 

“I wish we could stay here forever.’ Alec said, lazily. There was something about this garden that made him feel so relaxed.

“It is calming, isn’t it? I’m so glad I have someone to share it with. It makes it so much more special.”

They had shared half a bottle of wine and Alec had managed to drink two glasses, something else he had never done before. Whether it was the alcohol that gave him the courage or not, he decided to ask Magnus about his relationship with Raphael. 

“Can I ask you something?’

“Of course, Alexander, what is it you want to know?”

“How long have you known Raphael?”

He heard Magnus sigh and thought for a minute that he was going to dodge the question like he had about his age the night before.  
“Raph and I go back quite a few years now.”

“So, he just works for you?”

“He’s been more than that to me, really.” Alec sat up so he could see Magnus’ face.

“So, he’s, what, a friend?” Magnus took a sip of wine from his glass, looking back at him over the rim.

“What exactly do you want to say, Alec?” Once again, he knew there was something more that Alec wasn’t saying. Now he was at the crucial point of the conversation, his initial courage about the whole thing was slipping away from him. He started to say something but he was having trouble getting the words out.

“You want to know if we are lovers, don’t you? Past or present.” Alec let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. Magnus had gotten to the point.

“Yeah, sort of.” Magnus raised one eyebrow and a grin filled his face.

“Why do you want to know that, Alexander, don’t tell me you’re jealous?”

Alec could feel his face heating for the umpteenth time. He wished he could stop doing that, it was embarrassing how easily could make him blush. He saw Magnus’ eyes change in a flash. The amusement that had played in them a second ago was now replaced with something else. Something much darker. Alec swallowed hard. Shit, what was happening. 

Magnus sat straight up, his hands gripping Alec’s biceps firmly. He crashed his mouth down hard on his, with enough force to push him backwards. This kiss meant business, there was nothing gentle or tender about it at all. It conveyed possession and control but running under it all was a deep seeded feeling of need. Alec was sure that he felt it to his core. He’d never experienced anything like it in his life, it even scared him a little but fuck, was it hot.  
When Magnus broke the connection, Alec was left feeling light headed and full of desire. He lay on his back looking at Magnus above him, out of breath and panting.

“Two things. One, do you know how hot you are when you blush, how much it turns me on? And two, do you think I could kiss you like that if I had that sort of relationship with Raphael? When I’m with someone, Alexander, I’m with only them. No one else. I’ve waited a long time to find you, I’m not going to do anything to risk losing you. Raph is a friend, a companion, nothing else.” 

Alec had no idea how to reply to that. It was the most intense thing anybody had ever said to him. He supposed he should have been worried about how deep Magnus felt for him in such a short space of time but he’d be damned if he didn’t feel it too. It was some kind of connection to him that he had felt from the first second he had laid eyes on this exotically gorgeous man. He had thought that maybe he had wanted him because he was the first man who had wanted him in a way that he had thought he would never get to experience but it was more than that. If he allowed himself to think about it for too long it frightened the shit out of him. 

“Magnus I…., is this…..,” he stammered. Magnus bent his head to his again but this time he put small, tender kisses on his cheek, his nose and then finally his lips.

“You want to know if what we have is normal, don’t you? No, Alexander, it’s not. I think it’s one of those things so rare that it when it does happen, there’s no name for it. I certainly have never experienced anything remotely like it and I’m pretty sure you haven’t either.”   
He was smoothing back the few strands of Alec’s hair that fell across his forehead. It almost felt like a relief to know it wasn’t just him that thought that there was a special bond between them. 

“That’s why we have to be careful how we handle it. We’ve both been given this once in a life time gift. We’d be fools not to treasure it.” Magnus said and kissed him softly. It was so tender this time, it had Alec begging for more. He could feel Magnus consuming him, body and soul and he was more than willing to just let it happen.

They were so caught up in each other, they failed to see that the day that had started out sunny had now clouded over and even when the first drops of rain began to fall they were still wrapped in each other, oblivious to the weather. It wasn’t until the rain started in earnest that they parted. The tree had kept the worst of the rain off them but it was growing steadily heavier and was starting to dampen the material of their clothes. They both broke out laughing at each other.

“As special as this is, I think it’s time we make a run for the house.” Magnus said, loading things back into the basket. They stood up and Alec grabbed the rug and shoved it over the top and they both ran out into the rain.  
In the short time it took them to get back and onto the terrace, they were both soaked to the skin. Magnus opened the doors and they stepped inside. Alec wiped the water from his face and hair.

“We must look like a couple of drowned rats.” He laughed but when he had taken his hand away from his face, the laughter vanished in an instant. 

They both looked at each other standing there. The material of their shirts plastered to their bodies, showing every couture, every curve. They were both out of breath and breathing heavily from their dash to the house but Alec could feel each breath deepening the longer he looked at Magnus. His shirt was dark blue so it wasn’t made transparent by the rain but it might as well of been. Christ, he was hot. He should have been cold from the rain but he felt like he was burning up. He heard the basket hit the floor with a thump, something in it sounded like it had shattered.

“Jesus, Alexander, do you have any idea how beautiful you are? Look at you.” Magnus said in almost a whisper.

Alec felt his legs wanting to give way. Oh my God, how the hell was he able to do this to him, and he wasn’t even touching him. The tension in the air between them was almost visible. The only thing on Alec that was dry now was his mouth and he wasn’t sure that he had remembered to breath.


	9. Chapter 9

In the blink of an eye, Magnus was in front of him, hands at the neck of his t shirt. The sound of tearing fabric rent the air as Alec felt the shirt literally being torn from his body. Magnus took a small step back, his hungry eyes taking in Alec’s bare chest, the remains of the torn t shirt hanging from the waist band of his sodden jeans. If this had happened only a few days ago, he would have been trying to curl into himself, his insecurities making him want to disappear. But that was the last thing on his mind right now. 

Magnus brought his hands up to lay them on his skin. Alec must have been breathing because he heard himself take a deep intake of air. He felt frozen to the spot. Magnus slowly moved down his chest, like he was mapping its surface, his fingers feeling the light dusting of dark hair that covered his pecs. Alec saw him swallow, his Adams apple bobbing up and down. Fuck, why was that so hot to him?   
His hands made it to his middle before he fanned his fingers out over his abs. His eyes hadn’t left his body but when he had reached where his jeans met his waist, he looked up into Alec’s face. 

Alec had to will his knees not to buckle out for underneath him. Those deep bottomless black pools that were Magnus’ eyes were so full of lust that it both frightened and excited him all at once. The next thing he knew, Magnus had thrown himself at him, his mouth clamped over his, his hands sliding up his wet back, leaving a fiery trail behind them. Alec desperately wanted to attack his shirt but Magnus was jammed so hard against him he couldn’t do anything but hold him. Suddenly he felt his hands leave his back and wedge their way between them to the front of his jeans, one hand went to work on undoing the button, the other palming his hardness behind the zipper. Alec’s eyes flew open and he moaned loudly against Magnus’ lips. Whoa! Somehow he’d missed a step. He broke the kiss, dearly needing to take a breath.

“What happened to taking things slowly?” He barely managed to choke out.

“You shouldn’t of gotten wet. Sweet Jesus, I can’t keep my hands off you any longer, Alexander. I can’t help myself. You’re so fucking hot. Do you want me to stop, please don’t say yes.” Magnus growled. His voice had gone deep and raspy. Shit, who was the hot mess now?

“No, I don’t want you to stop.” Alec breathed.   
The minute the words left his lips, Magnus grabbed his hand and pulled him quickly forward towards the stairs. Ok, this was getting serious now. Alec felt his heart beat start to gallop as they ran up the stairs and towards the door at the end of the landing.

Magnus turned the knob and brought him into his bedroom. He only got a glimpse of the interior before Magnus started kissing him again. The walls were a deep red and the bed was a huge four poster. He felt hands at the button of his jeans again, this time they were successful and he felt the excruciatingly good feeling of the vibration of the zipper being pulled down over his ever hardening length. But it wasn’t fair, Magnus still wore his wet clothes.   
Alec grabbed his hands when they went to the waist band of his jeans to start tugging them off.

“No, it’s my turn.” He said and reached out to take hold of the lapels of his shirt. He pulled hard and felt the front of it give way, buttons shooting off in all directions, hitting the floor. He saw Magnus sway a bit on his feet.

“Shit, I hope that wasn’t expensive.”

“I don’t care if it was a million dollars, I’d let you do that to a wardrobe full of them.” He said, eyes closed and breathing hard.

He took in huge eyefuls of Magnus’ own bare torso. No, he was the beautiful one. The lightly tanned skin was smooth and taut over hard muscle. Water dripped from it and all Alec could think of was how much he wanted to lick it from him. It unnerved him a little that he was having those kinds of thoughts at all.

“Touch me.” Magnus whispered as if he knew what was in his head. Alec reached out a hand and laid it on him.  
He was a contradiction of firm muscle and soft skin. It made Alec’s mouth water. He bent his head, acting on his earlier thought. He started off by kissing him then as he grew a little more confident, he gave a flick of his tongue. He felt Magnus react to it, worried that he had done the wrong thing but when he heard him make that soft purring sound and felt his hands threading through his damp hair, he knew he must have been heading in the right direction. He worked his way up his chest, feeling the rapid rise and fall under his lips. He reached the base of his throat and his mouth searched for that particular spot that he knew Magnus loved. He knew he had reached it when he felt him tilt his head and moan softly, his hands tightening in his hair. He gave the skin a small nip before sucking it into his mouth.

“Oh Alexander, for someone who is new to all this, you seem to be learning fast.” Magnus whispered.

“I don’t want to disappoint you.” He said, raising his head to look into his eyes. Magnus gave him a slow smile, eyes full of emotion.

“I don’t think you could ever do that.” And he joined his lips to his once more. 

Alec felt his hands sliding down the inside of the waist of his jeans, gently pushing them over his hips so they slumped to his ankles. Once again, his first instinct would have been to try to cover up but it was being over ridden by his need for this man. He reached for Magnus’ waist and awkwardly undid the button and then the zipper before stalling. Magnus drew back from him but never broke eye contact.  
He knew that this was all very new for Alec and as much as he longed to feel his hands on him, he had to give him time and be patient. 

“It’s alright, beautiful boy, as much as I want you, I only want you to do what you’re comfortable with. I hadn’t thought we would progress to this point quite so soon but if you don’t………” Alec silenced him with a hand pressed firmly over the bulge below the open zipper.

“I don’t think I could stop now even if I wanted to.” He gently squeezed and Magnus thought he was going to collapse. He grabbed Alec by the top of his arms and herded him towards the bed, forcing him backwards so the back of his legs hit the edge with enough momentum to make him fall back. 

Alec fell against the soft surface. The material of the quilt below his back felt cold against his heated skin. As much as he wanted this, his inexperience made him nervous. He’d never slept with anyone before let alone another man. But God, he really wanted this. He decided to just completely surrender to Magnus and allow him to guide him through it.   
He stood before him at the side of the bed, just gazing down at him. He shook his head.

“You’re a masterpiece, Alexander Lightwood. You take my breath away. Are you sure about this, we don’t have to go any further.” Alec shook his head.

“No, I want to.”   
That gave Magnus the green light and he picked up one foot and then the other, reefing off his shoes then his socks, letting them fall to the floor before bunching the wet jeans and pulling them off completely. He eased off his own shoes, reached down to remove his socks then went to push down his pants but Alec sat up and put his hands over his. He looked up into his face, as if silently asking permission and Magnus gave him a barely perceptible nod, his hands going to either side of his face. Alec hooked his thumbs into the waistband and slowly slid them down feeling the heat rolling off his body. He was expecting to see another layer but when he saw the start of a thick patch of dark hair he realised Magnus wasn’t wearing underwear and it threw him a little. He heard Magnus give a small chuckle and then step back from him.

“I’m sorry, my love, I forgot I had gone commando this morning. It might be a bit much to be that up close and personal with that part of my anatomy right now. Let me finish what you started.”   
Magnus pushed the wet pants the rest of the way down and stepped out of them. Alec could feel his face heating at the sight of him. The man was truly gifted and it made him feel that his own body was going to come up woefully short. But fuck, how he wanted him. Magnus came back over to him and motioned for him to get further onto the bed. He climbed on himself, hovering over Alec who had managed to straighten up and lean against the pillows. He bent down and starting with his neck, peppered small kisses over him, working his way down over his chest and down his stomach. Alec felt himself getting harder by the minute and he didn’t know how much longer he was going to be about to hold himself back. Magnus settled himself between his legs and grabbed his briefs, slowly inching them off till his erection sprung free. Alec felt extremely self-conscious at that point and closed his eyes and looked away. Magnus finished removing his underwear completely before he put a gentle hand to his face, making Alec turn back to him.

“No, Alexander, don’t look away from me. Your body is magnificent. You don’t have anything to be ashamed of.”  
He coaxed him back with soft kisses that quickly became urgent and wanting. He lowered himself to cover Alec’s body, moving his lips to his cheek and then down to nuzzle at his neck. Alec was a mass of raw nerve endings. He was hyper aware of every inch of Magnus’ skin pressing on his and he was on the verge of losing it. Shit, if he had known what he was missing all these years he had denied himself about who he was, he would of come barreling out of that closest long before today. When he felt the combination of Magnus’ tongue on him and the firm but urgent thrust of his cock against his he let out a strangled cry and dug his fingers into his back. Fuck, he was going to come and he wasn’t ready yet.

He heard a deep throaty chuckle come from Magnus and he raised himself to look down at him. “Feeling a little needy, are we?” he crooned to him, smiling. He’d never seen anything so hot in his life as the sight of this young man lying beneath him, face flushed, eyes shiny, soft pink lips parted and hot air escaping him in hard, deep breaths. God, why had he been hidden from him up till now? Alec felt him thrust into him again this time with more force and he screwed his eyes up tight trying to hold himself back.

“Let yourself go, beautiful boy, don’t deny yourself any longer.” He heard Magnus whisper as he lowered himself back down to lay on him again. He brought his hands up to cup his face, kissing him hard. Alec felt his tongue enter his mouth to dance with his own and then he pushed his hard cock into his own once more and it was enough to tip both over the edge. Alec gave a loud moan as the exquisite pulses of pleasure washed over him in heated waves and he felt himself pulsing against Magnus who was doing the same thing. Hot liquid pooled between them. He couldn’t stop himself from making soft keening sounds as he rode the last of most powerful orgasm he’d ever had to the end. It left him breathless and limp beneath Magnus who was watching his face.

“Do you have any idea how fucking hot that was to watch you come apart like that? I’ve never seen anything more magical in my life. Thank you for allowing me to witness it.”

It took Alec a few minutes before he could trust himself to form coherent sentences. He was totally spent and felt that his bones had been replaced with a warm liquid that filled every inch of his body.   
If he felt like this from just doing what they had done, he thought he was in real danger of imploding when they actually had sex.

“I hate to think what I look like. You’ve wrecked me.” He drawled, and with heavy arms, wrapped himself around Magnus who was resting his head on his chest now. 

“I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful, my love. But you do realise this was just the beginning.”  
Alec gave a pained groan and Magnus could help laughing.

“Don’t worry, I think we’ve satisfied each other enough for one day. I don’t want to wear you out before we get to the really good stuff.”   
He rolled off Alec and he immediately missed the warmth and the wonderful feeling of his weight on him. He curled into him, needing that closeness. Alec nestled his head against his chest his arm going across his stomach. He was powerless to stop his heavy eyes from closing and the feel of Magnus’ hand softly toying with his hair at the side of his face was enough finished him off and he felt himself drifting into a blissful sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Alec had no idea how long he slept for but when he opened his eyes, Magnus was there, leaning on one arm, just watching him. He was smiling and he reached out his hand and brushed away the hair from his forehead.

“I thought you’d never wake up again and I would be forced to lay here looking at you forever.” Magnus said and he bent his head and gently brushed his lips to his. 

“That sounds like it would be about as much fun as watching paint dry.” Alec replied. He was still astounded that someone as exceptional as Magnus would be remotely interested in an average guy like him. Magnus was giving him one of his knowing looks again.

“Stop that.” He told him.

“Stop what? I haven’t done anything.”

“You’re overthinking about things, I can tell. I wish you wouldn’t put yourself down like that, Alexander. I find you the most interesting person I’ve met in a long time. I consider it a privilege to get to know the real Alec Lightwood that’s kept himself hidden all his life.” He kissed him gently.

“I just hope you like what you see when the curtain is pulled back and the rest of me is revealed. I don’t think my family are going to.”  
The thought of how his parents and Izzy were going to react was almost too painful to think about. He hadn’t realised he had dropped his head until he felt Magnus bringing it back up so that he was looking into his eyes that were soft with concern.

“The glimpses of you that you have shown me so far look pretty special to me. When you aren’t over thinking things or feeling self-conscious that inner light shines like sunshine, beautiful boy. It’s a sight to behold. Your family deserve to see it too as well as your friend. You owe them that.” Magnus ran a finger along his jaw before he cupped his face and started kissing him once more. 

They spent the next couple of hours in bed, wrapped in each other, sharing soft touches and warm kisses. Alec had never been so relaxed and happy before. He wished that he could feel like this every day, not just when he was with Magnus. The thought of going back to his normal life was starting to depress him. Magnus was right, things were going to have to change. 

The rest of the weekend went too quickly and before he knew it, Alec was starting out the front of the house, clinging to Magnus and enjoying a final kiss before he left. Magnus seemed to be having as much trouble prying himself off him as he was with him.   
“Can’t we just stay here and ignore the rest of the world?” Alec asked him, his voice muffled against the other man’s shoulder. He was taking in deep breaths of that wonderful scent of his so he could keep it with him for the next week.

“As good as that sounds, my love, I think the rest of the world would probably come looking for you if we did. Besides, I can’t be selfish and deny them the wonder that is Alec Lightwood.” He smiled at him, filling him with warmth. After a final kiss, Alec finally got into the back of the car and watched as Magnus disappeared from his view. 

There was a partition that separated the front seat from the back and Alec was glad that Raphael had left it closed. The jury was still out on the way he felt about him, Alec didn’t care what Magnus said. He was lost in thought with his head leaning back against the seat so he didn’t hear the soft noise of the partition being slid back.

“I just wanted to let you know we are about twenty minutes from your apartment.” Raphael’s smooth voice brought him back to reality.

“Oh, ok , thanks.”

“I just want to tell you one thing and I’ll never mention it again. If you hurt Magnus in any way, I’ll come looking for you. There will be no place that I won’t find you either.” Raphael said, looking at Alec in the rear view mirror. 

Alec felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He looked back at him, only seeing his eyes but he had no doubt that he meant every word.

“I have no intention of doing that. You needn’t worry.” 

“I’m pleased to hear it. I can see how much you mean to Magnus already and it makes him vulnerable and open to getting his heart broken. The last time that happened, I feared I would lose him. I don’t want that to happen again.”

Alec wondered who it had been that Raphael had been talking about and how long it had been since it had happened. He thought about asking Magnus the next weekend but he didn’t know how he would go about it and not reveal how he had found out. Maybe it was best not to.

“As I said, I have no wish to hurt him. He means a lot to me as well.”

Raphael didn’t take it any further and shortly after that, they turned into Alec’s street. 

“Were you expecting anyone?” Raphael asked him as they neared his building. Alec frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I think your friend Jace is out the front. He doesn’t look happy.”

The car pulled up out the front as sure enough, Jace was there, hands on hips, glaring at the car, trying to see through the heavily tinted windows. Oh shit, this wasn’t going to be good.

“So where the fuck have you been? And don’t lie again and tell me it was your sisters because I know that was bullshit.” Alec grabbed his bag and shut the door. The only thing he was grateful for at that moment was that Raphael hadn’t gotten out of the car.

“Nice to see you too, Jace.”Alec said, looking around to see if there was anyone in hearing distance.

“Don’t give me that. Just tell me what the hell is going on with you. Was that the weird guy’s car from last weekend?” Alec walked to the door and used his pass key to let them in.

“Can we just go inside to my place please? I don’t want the whole neighborhood hearing.”

“Why would that be Alec, frightened they’ll think you’ve gotten mixed up with some crazy rich asshole with whom you’re doing God only knows what?”

Alec could feel the anger building in him very quickly. He could understand Jace was concerned about where he had been but jumping to wild conclusions weren’t helping.  
They climbed the flight of stairs and headed for Alec’s door. Jace had managed to hold his tongue from any more attacks until they got inside the apartment and shut the door.

“Right, we’re inside now start talking.” He said, folding his arms over his chest and frowning at Alec.

“How about you start by telling me how you knew I wasn’t at Isabelle and Simon’s place. Were you checking up on me for any reason?”

“No, I didn’t have to check up on you. I was at the movies with Clary and we were walking past that little Italian place and Izzy and Simon were just coming through the door. Naturally I was surprised to see them when it was supposed to be one of the kid’s birthdays so I asked them where you were and imagine my surprise when Izzy told me she hadn’t heard from you.” Alec felt his heart sink. Holy shit, now Izzy would be after him. He sunk into the sofa and put his head in his hands. This wasn’t what he had wanted at all.

“I tried your phone, and guess what? It just kept going to voice mail. I was going out of my head, Alec. You never do stuff like that. I rang Lydia and she thought you were at Izzy’s as well. So what’s going on?” 

“I was at Magnus’ place for the weekend. I forgot I had my phone turned off.” Alec said softly.

“Why the fuck would you be there?”

“Because I was invited to go” Alec knew he was being evasive but he couldn’t help himself. His first instincts were to try to cover up and dodge the hard questions that he knew were coming.

“You were invited? By the rich weirdo? Why the hell would he do that?” 

Every time Jace said something snotty about Magnus if felt like a knife going through Alec and he could felt the anger in him jump up another notch.

“He’s not a rich weirdo and you need to stop calling him that?” Jace looked at him like he’d grown another head.

“And why do I need to do that, Alec? Why are you defending him?”

“Because he’s a nice guy and doesn’t deserve it. He helped you out too don’t forget.”

“Yeah fine but he did but did he put a price on his good Samaritan act, Huh? Is that why you went?”

“What are you getting at?” Alec was fast reaching his limit with this.

“I think you know what I mean. A good lookin’ guy like you, some lonely rich crazy who lives out in the middle of nowhere, did he demand a few favours as payment?” That was it, Alec flew up from the sofa and grabbed Jace, pushing him back against the wall. 

“I told you, don’t say shit like that about Magnus. I went because I wanted to go and for no other reason. He didn’t demand anything from me that I wouldn’t of been willing to give him.” Jace stilled against the wall, he was staring back at his friend as if he was a stranger.

“What do you mean?” 

Alec had been holding him against the wall by bracing an arm across his chest but he let it go and turned away from him.

“Alec, what are you saying? For fuck’s sake, man I’ve been worried sick about where you’ve been, you’ve been different all week, I could tell. What the hell’s happening with you, you owe me.”

This was it, the moment he had been dreading. Alec closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He was shaking all over. He turned back to look at Jace.  
The anger had gone from Jace but he could see the worry remained.

“There’s a part of me that I’ve kept to myself, Jace. I’ve known about it for years but I just couldn’t say anything. Not to you, not to my parents or Izzy, no one.”

“Jesus, you’re not going to tell me you’re really a woman or something are ya? I mean, if you are well, it’s a shock but ok, whatever floats your boat, man.” Alec almost laughed. Of all the scenarios he could of come up with, this was really out there.

“No, Jace. I’m not a woman and I don’t want to be a woman. I’m gay.”

The silence was deafening in the apartment. Jace was just standing there, looking at him. Of all the reactions he had thought he would of seen from him, this wasn’t one of them. In a lot of ways, it was worse than him saying anything. 

“Well, aren’t you going to say anything?” he asked.

Jace walked over to him and stood directly in front of him. Alec held his breath, unsure of what his next move was going to be. Jace stood there for another few seconds before he wrapped his arms around him. 

For a couple of heart beats, Alec was too stunned to move but he slowly brought his hands up and put them on Jace’s back. Alec had no idea how long they hugged for. It could have been a few seconds, five minutes or an hour, time had seemed to of stood still before Jace finally released him.  
Alec looked at him cautiously. He had no idea what would come next.


	11. Chapter 11

“Finally.”

Alec was stunned. Had he heard him right?

“What?” 

“I said finally. I’ve been waiting for this for years. Well done man, about time.”

Alec stared back at him. This was too much for one night. He needed to sit. Now. He went back to the sofa and fell onto it. Jace sat beside him.  
“You, you knew what I was?” his voice was too high and sounded strained, even to Alec.

“Of course I did, well, I had my suspicions, at least.”

Alec let out a sharp breath and sat back slumped against the sofa. This was crazy. He wanted to pinch himself and make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“If you knew than why the hell didn’t you say anything before now? And why have you been trying to fix me up with girls all this time, with Lydia especially.”

“I suppose I just didn’t want to push you until you were ready. By the time we left high school and you hadn’t said anything, I figured you must of like, changed your mind or something. I thought maybe I had it wrong, until now that is.” He clapped Alec hard on the shoulder.

“So, you don’t care?” 

Jace looked at him like he’d just slapped him. 

“Dude, of course I don’t care. You’re still the big idiot I’ve known like, forever. Who you want to be with doesn’t matter, unless I don’t think he’s good enough for you, that is.” 

Now it was Alec’s turn to hug Jace. He could feel the tension drain from him like someone had pulled a plug out of him. Part of the weight he had been carrying all this time had finally been lifted.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s going on with your mystery man, or what?” Jace said, when they broke apart. Alec gave a sigh and couldn’t help smiling when he thought of Magnus. But how was he going to explain something he was still trying to figure out himself.

“He’s like no one I’ve ever met before and there are things about him I really understand yet. But I like the way I feel when I’m with him, Jace. It just feels, right. This is going to sound really corny and stupid but we have a connection of some kind. I felt it when we first saw each other last weekend. It’s weird but it’s a good weird.” 

Alec didn’t know how much sense he had made and from the look on Jace’s face he knew that 

“As long as he treats you good, that’s all I care about.”

“He does. Really good.” Alec couldn’t help smiling at the thoughts of the last two days and he knew his cheeks were colouring.

“From the look on your face, I’ll believe you, but spare me the details, will ya? Ah, I don’t want to be the party pooper but what about Lydia and Izzy? Are you going to tell them?” Alec sighed.

“Yeah, I will. I owe it to Lydia but I don’t know how it’s gonna be with Izzy. Can you come with me when I do?”

“Of course I will if you want me to. I’m sure your sister and your Mum and Dad will be understanding, though.” Alec doubted that. There was nothing easy going about Maryse and Robert Lightwood or their daughter. He just hoped when things blew up into a million pieces that Jace might help him pick them up.  
Not long after Jace finally left Alec’s phone started ringing. It was Magnus.

“Hey.”

“Alexander, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

“Because Raph told me about Jace being there when you got back and that he didn’t look happy about it. This was why I told you that you should of said something to him earlier.”

“It’s ok, I told him and you were right, he was fine about it.” He heard Magnus let out a deep breath.

“I told you Jace would understand. I’m so glad that you finally did it. Now, what about the poor girl? Or your family, when are you going to tell them?”

“I’m going to see Lydia after work tomorrow. Some how I don’t see it going as well as it did with Jace. You were right, I should of said something to her last week.”

“Yes, you should of but as long as you do it tomorrow it hopefully won’t be too bad. No one likes getting strung along, Alexander.”

“Yeah, I’ve been an asshole about it.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t of gone that far. I can see how it’s been hard for you. Coming out to friends and family can be difficult and unfortunately, there can be people that are collateral damage.”

“Jace said that he would go with me when I told Izzy so at least I’ll have back up.”

“He’s a good friend, Alexander, I hope you appreciate that.”

“Yeah, I think I’m just realising how good. I wish you were here with me, though. My bed is going to be lonely from now on.”

“I feel the same way, my love but I don’t want to complicate your life any more than I already have till you get things straightened out on your end. I’m a lot to deal with so things need to be as simple as possible.” Alec stared at the phone screen for a moment. Why would he say that? But he felt like he’d had enough drama for one night so he let it pass.

“I’ll call you after I speak to Lydia and tell you how it went. Have the emergency number on speed dial will you, I may need it.” Magnus gave a small laugh.

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad. Good luck, Alexander. I miss you already.” Alec couldn’t help grinning to himself. It felt so good knowing that Magnus felt the same way as he did.

“I miss you too, talk soon.”

Going to work the next day, Alec sort of felt different. Maybe it was because for the first time in a week, he wasn’t going to have to make sure he didn’t let anything slip about Magnus around Jace. He had no intentions, though of saying anything to his boss or the other two mechanics they worked with. He didn’t think it was important that they knew anything about his personal life.

He parked his bike and went in. Jace was already there and he looked up and gave him a wave, the same as he did most mornings.

“Hey, sleep well, did ya?” he asked Alec.

“Better than I have been, I suppose, but ask me the same question after I see Lydia and Izzy.”

“It’ll be all good with Izzy, I’m sure. Lydia, maybe not so much. I kind of feel that it’s partly my fault for setting you up with her in the first place.”

“No, don’t blame yourself. If I’d have had the balls to say something before this, than it wouldn’t be an issue. This is on me. I could have just said I wasn’t interested after the first date we had.”

“Just know I’m here for you, man.” Jace walked up to him and gave him a firm hug, surprising him to no end. 

“What, now you’re gonna get all touchy feely with me? Is there something maybe you want to tell me?” Alec laughed.

“Hey! Love birds, keep it in your pants till after work and get movin’ on those cars.” Pops’ voice rang out through the workshop from the door of the office, making the other two mechanics laugh. 

Alec and Jace let each other go immediately, both going bright red. 

“No, there’s nothing I have to tell you. If I was any straighter they could use me for a landing strip.” Jace said, half under his breath. His eyes were going around the workshop to make sure he hadn’t been over heard. Alec couldn’t help but give a small chuckle.

“That’s for sure.” He replied and went back to work.

At lunch time, Alec steeled himself and rang Lydia.

“Hello.” Not a great start, she sounded pissed already.

“Hey, Lydia. I just wanted to say sorry for not calling you sooner. I’ve had a few things on my mind. Can you come around to my place tonight so we can talk?”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

“Yes, alright. I’ll come about eight, is that ok?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, I’ll see you then.”

“Goodbye Alec.” The call disconnected. 

Jace came over to him and sat beside him.

“Was that Lydia?”

“Yeah. She’s not happy with me already, I hate to think what he’s gonna be like after tonight.”

“She might surprise you.” Jace clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“I doubt it, man.” Alec dropped his head, staring at the ground in front of him, lost in his own thoughts.

Jace dug him in the ribs, a few minutes later.

“Ready for another round?” Alec looked up at him, frowning.

“What?”

“Here comes Izzy.” Jace nodded towards he street. Isabelle Lewis was charging towards them. There wasn’t a lot of Alec’s sister, she had gotten their father’s compact height where Alec had inherited Maryse’s tall genes. What there was of Isabelle’s small frame, Alec could see she meant business. Alec and Jace stood up just as she reached them.

“You need to explain to me where you were that you used us an excuse, Alec.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Do we have to do this now, Izzy? This is my work for God’s sake. Can’t you come around at six and we can talk then?” Alec was looking around to make sure the other mechanics or Pops wasn’t in ear shot.

“Fine. But you make sure you’re there. You seem to of developed a habit of saying you’ll be somewhere you’re not.” His sister barked. She turned her back and walked back to her car without another word. Alec let out a deep breath he’d been holding.

“Oh man, I think you’re gonna need the paramedics on standby by tonight. I’ve never seen your sister that angry before. She should come with a health warning.” Jace said, watching the blue BMW pulling away from the curb.

“Yeah, I hope you’re still up for being my support tonight? I think I’m going to need all the help I can get.” Alec said.

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll be there.”


	12. Chapter 12

At six that night though, Jace wasn’t there. Alec was about to try his phone when he saw Izzy’s car pull up on the street out the front of the building. He buzzed her in and tried Jace’s phone but got no reply. 

“Thanks a lot Jace. Right when I needed you, and now you’re off the grid.” Alec said to himself as he heard a sharp knock at the door.

He squared his shoulders and opened it. From the look on Izzy’s face, she hadn’t calmed down much since lunch time.

“So, do I get an explanation or not?” She said, hands on her hips, watching him.

“Yes, I’m sorry, ok? I shouldn’t of lied about being at your place.” 

“That’s it? That’s all I’m going to get? Not good enough, try again.”

“Can we sit down please, at least?” Alec didn’t know why he thought what he was about to say to her was going to be any easier from the sofa but he was willing to try anything at this point. Izzy frowned at him but complied.

“I met someone while Jace and I were away and I was invited back to their place again last weekend.”

“Met someone? Who could you of possibly met out in the middle of nowhere?”

“Jace took a spill off his bike and we saw a house not far from where it happened so I took him there. I was going to use their phone cause ours where back at the camp site. The guy that owned the house got his driver to take Jace and I to the hospital and then gave me a bed for the night.”

“So who was this person you met? Some nurse or doctor, someone at the hospital?”

“No, it was the guy who owned the house. His name is Magnus.” Izzy looked confused.

“So, what? You’re friends now? It still doesn’t explain why you felt the need to lie about where you were, unless it was because you didn’t want Jace to know you made a new friend.”

“Well, to be honest, that was kind of right, but not for the reason you think. Izzy, I’ve started a relationship with Magnus. I’m gay.” Alec held his breath and waited for her reaction.

Izzy just looked at him for a few minutes and didn’t say a word. Alec was trying desperately to read her thoughts but it was almost impossible. Then all of a sudden, she burst out laughing. Now he was completely thrown.

“Of all the excuses you can come up with you had to pick that one, well done, brother. Nice try but it still won't help you.” Izzy said, still giggling. Alec couldn’t believe it. She actually thought he was joking.

“Izzy, I’m serious. This wasn’t a joke.”

“Izzy was still grinning until she looked at his face and realised that he wasn’t joining in with the supposed prank. The grin faded rapidly.   
“Hang on, you’re serious, aren’t you?” She said, stilling.

“As a heart attack.” 

Alec watched as his sister got up and took a few steps away from him.

“Is it this man you’ve been seeing, has he done this to you?”

“No! Isabelle! Someone can’t turn you gay, for Pete’s sake. I knew this about myself long before I met Magnus.”

“If that’s true than why haven’t you said anything before now? Surely you could of told Mum and Dad or me?”

Alec took a deep breath in. How could he explain this to her without sounding like a horrible son and brother.

“I just felt I couldn’t say anything to you or our parents. They’ve always just expected me to be a certain way, to act a certain way. Sending us to the top schools, giving us opportunities that other people would give their right arm for. It was hard enough for them to swallow when I told them I wanted to be a mechanic not a lawyer at Dad’s firm. Things haven’t been the same with them since then and since I moved out and got my own place. Telling them I was gay would only have made things worse. It probably still will.” Alec put his face in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. A headache was starting to make its presence felt behind his eyes.

“So, this, Magnus, he’s, what, your boyfriend?” Izzy asked him. Alec raised his head.

“I don’t think you could say that yet. We’ve only known each other a week, but I think it will end up that way. He means a lot to me, Izzy.” Alec watched as she came back to sit back down beside him.

“Of all the things that I thought you would tell me when I came here tonight, this wasn’t one of them, Alec. I’m going to have to have a bit of time to think about all this. It’s a lot to take in all at once.” She told him, quietly.

This wasn’t the reaction he had thought he would have gotten from his sister but it wasn’t the worst one either. It did, however, make Alec feel like things were still up in the air, unresolved.

‘What’s there to think about? I’m not going to change, Izzy.’

“I realise that, Alec but surely you can see that finding out something like this about someone you’ve known your entire life takes a bit of getting used to.”

“I’m still the same person, I haven’t suddenly become completely different just because I’ve come out.” 

“So you say, Alec but I find that hard to believe. The Alec Lightwood that I knew wouldn’t have lied to me or our parents. He would have trusted us enough to say something long before this.”

“Weren’t you listening to anything I said earlier? There’s no way Mum and Dad would of taken this with just a pat on the back and a “well done, Alec glad you told us” and you know that.”

“Did you ever try to tell them at least? How would you know that wouldn’t have been the type of reaction they would have had?”

“Because I’m not you, Izzy. You’ve always done the right thing, followed the right paths, even married the right person. When I refused to do that, things changed between us.”

“so now it’s all my fault?” Alec looked at her in shock. 

“Jesus, Isabelle, that’s not what I mean and you know it. It’s between our parents and me. I’m not blaming you for anything.”

“So then it’s Mum and Dad’s fault? Those people that you just said gave you all those opportunities.”

That headache was getting worse by the second. How the hell did this become a debate about their parents? 

“All I wanted to do was to tell you that I was gay, Izzy, not get into it over Mum and dad.”

“That’s all? You think dropping this on me was going to be no big deal?”

“Of course it’s a big deal. Why do you think it’s taken me this long to say anything? I did hope that I might get some support from you, but maybe that was expecting too much.” Izzy stood back up, her eyes flashed angrily back at him.

“Expecting me to just accept this and go on like nothing has changed was expecting too much. Surely you can see that.”

“Yeah, Izzy, that’s exactly what I had hoped for. Jace didn’t seem to have any trouble doing it.”

“Jace isn’t family. I’m sure he isn’t as invested in you as we are.” 

“Oh no, he’s only know me almost half my life, why would he care.” Alec had had enough. This had gotten way out of hand and the thought of Lydia coming in a little under an hour made him feel sick and caused his headache to go up another notch.

“Look, this is getting us nowhere. I think it would be better if you leave now, Izzy. Go home and do your thinking.” Isabelle grabbed her bag from where she had left it and headed for the door.

“I’m sure that I won’t be able to do much else but think about this. And don’t worry, I won’t tell our parents. That’s your job.” She reefed open the door went through it, slamming it closed behind her.

Alec felt like he’d been in a car wreck. He was physically and mentally drained. He slumped back into the sofa, closing his eyes. Maybe he had been expecting too much of Izzy. It was a pretty heavy thing to just drop on someone. But a distant voice in the back of Alec’s aching head said, “then why did jace just accept it?”   
Alec rubbed his throbbing temples. Shit, Lydia was due in less than an hour. There was no way he was up for another round tonight. He grabbed his phone and sent her a text saying that there had been a problem with a family member and could they do it tomorrow. He pressed the send button and prayed that she got it in time. A minute later he received a reply.

“Yes, of course. Hope everything is alright. See you tomorrow.”

Thank God for that, at least. Alec realised then that he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch. He went to get up to see what he had in the fridge when his phone rang. He almost didn’t pick it up, thinking that it might have been Izzy wanting to have another go at him or worse yet, one of his parents.  
He picked it up and seeing the caller ID quickly answered it.

“Alexander, are you alright?”

“You would have the best sense of timing of anyone I know, Magnus.”

“That’s not answering my question.”

“I’ve been better. My sister was just here.” There was silence for a few seconds.

“I take it things didn’t go well, then.”

“Understatement of the year. It turned ugly really fast. I have no idea how it’s going to play out.”

“I’m sorry that it went that way for you. Have you spoken to Lydia yet?”

“She was supposed to of come over tonight but I just couldn’t handle anymore drama so she’s coming tomorrow instead. I’m gonna kill Jace when I see him. He was supposed to be here to back me up and he never showed.”

“I’m sure he wanted to be there for you, it must have been something important for him not to be.”

“Yeah, well, all I want to do is crawl into my lonely bed and hide. I wish you were here, though. I'm sure you could make me feel better."

“I'm sure I could too. In fact, I’ll see you soon, my love.”   
The call ended abruptly and Alec was left standing there, looking stupidly at the screen. Hang on, did Magnus say, see you soon? Was he actually coming here? He doubted it. He probably meant that he’d see him on Friday.


	13. Chapter 13

Alec shook his head, which was a huge mistake. His headache made it feel like his brain was hitting the sides of his skull and he winced. Pain killers first, then food. He found some aspirin and took them, then went to his fridge. Nothing looked appealing so he decided on ordering a pizza.  
He sat on the sofa and leaned his head back, closing his eyes, willing the medication to work faster. He was tempted to start thinking about Izzy and everything that had gone on but he just felt too drained and he didn’t want to make his headache any worse than it already was. Twenty minutes later, he heard the door buzzer sound and he dragged himself up to let the pizza delivery guy in. He waited till he heard a knock and opened the door.  
Instantly, he was being held by two familiar arms. A soft warm mouth was on his in a tender kiss. Alec’s eyes flew wide and he couldn’t believe it.

“Magnus! What….how did you get here so quickly?” Alec stumbled when they finally broke apart.

“I told you I’d see you soon and I meant it. You sounded so down on the phone, I wanted to be with you.” He lifted his hand and laid it gently against his face. Alec leaned in to the comforting touch. He really needed this tonight. He found himself not caring how Magnus had gotten there so fast, all that mattered was he was with him.

“I’m glad you’re here. I need you tonight.” Magnus kissed him lightly and held him tighter to him.

“I know, my love, that’s why I’m here. I was so worried about you after I spoke to you. I couldn’t stay away. The thought of you being here alone was too much.” His lips went to his once more and stayed there until the door buzzed again.

“That’s probably the pizza guy. I hope you like Supreme pizza.” Alec said, softly against Magnus’ lips.

“I like whatever you do Alexander.” He smiled at him and let him go. 

They sat on the sofa together. Magnus was leaning back into the corner and Alec was against his chest. They both held a slice of pizza each and Alec could finally feel the headache fading. He didn’t know if it was the aspirin he had taken earlier or Magnus’ calming presence that had caused it. Either way, he didn’t care. It was a gift to have Magnus here with him when he really needed someone to be there. He could feel the tension draining from him as he nestled against his firm body. His warmth was seeping into his own, banishing the coldness of the unpleasantness from his confrontation with Izzy.  
While they were washing the pizza grease from their hands, Magnus gave Alec a worried look. He’d grown quiet, never a good sign.

“What’s wrong, Alexander?” Magnus looked back at him, a frown creasing his brow.

“I suppose you’re going back now.” He replied, he had cast his eyes down but he slowly lifted them up to face him. His eyes looked so sad, it made Magnus hurt. He reached out for him and pulled him against his body. Alec wrapped his arms around him tightly, like he was afraid that he would disappear from his sight in an instant. He squeezed his eyes closed, willing the soothing heat from his body and that wonderful scent of his to fill him, hoping that he could capture it within him somehow so that it might sustain him when he was alone with his thoughts.

“I’m not going anywhere, beautiful boy.” Magnus said softly into his ear.

Alec pulled back to look into his face and saw that wonderful soft smile. He crashed his mouth down to his and kissed him with everything he had. He felt Magnus tighten his hold on him, his hands moving up and down his back.

There wasn’t a lot of room in Alec’s very small bathroom, the sink, shower and toilet taking up the majority of the space. And it was definitely too small for two solidly built men that were wrapped around each other. Alec had been forcing Magnus backwards, he hoped, towards the door but when he heard a “umpff” come from him and felt him come to a sudden stop, he knew that his direction skills had failed him.

“Do you think we can take this to your room, Alexander? Not that I’m not enjoying it but if I stay in this spot any longer I’m going to have a towel rail sized dent in my back.” Magnus was looking at him with amusement. He grinned back.

“I’m afraid my room isn’t as nice as yours is. It’s pretty basic.”

“As long as it has a bed and you in it, I don’t care.” Magnus said against his lips. 

Alec wanted to melt. Magnus sure knew what to say to press all his right buttons. He took his hand and went to the door directly across the hall. He reached for the light but Magnus stopped him.

“No, we don’t need that. I want to feel my way around you.”  
He pulled him close and Alec’s hands reached out for his waist, pulling at the soft material of his shirt. His breath hitched a little when his hands found Magnus’ warm skin and they started working their way up his back, feeling the firm muscles working beneath. Magnus had grabbed the back of Alec’s t shirt and bunched the material, riding it up his back before he left his lips long enough to pull it over his head and throw it on the floor. Alec longed for the feel of his bare skin against him and moved his hands around to start undoing buttons. His urgency made his fingers fumble with them and he was tempted to rip the shirt off him but held back the urge. He didn’t think Magnus had brought a change of clothes with him. He Finally reached the last button and slid his hands under the parted sides of the shirt. He couldn’t help the soft moan tht escaped him as his fingers fanned out over the heated surface of Magnus’ smooth chest. He worked his way up to his shoulders so he could push the shirt off, then jammed his own chest up against his. Oh God, he loved that feeling or warmth and security that he got when he was this close to Magnus.

Alec hooked his fingers into the waistband of his jeans and started to pull Magnus towards his bed. Magnus’ kisses were becoming deeper and Alec could hear his breathing change. He felt hands at his waist, undoing the button and the zipper before a hand cupped his hardness through the material. He moaned into his mouth and pressed into the touch.

“I want you so badly, Alexander, but I don’t want to push you……..” Magnus whispered to him, breaking their kiss.

“Shut up and keep going.” Alec’s words came out as more of an urgent plea than he had meant them to. But he didn’t think he could stop now even if he wanted to. His hands went in search of Magnus’ own button and zipper and once he undid them, he yanked his pants down and they slumped to the floor. He put his hands to his hips, expecting to feel bare skin but found material instead.

“Now, you’re wearing underwear?” he said, amused.

“Well, I just thought after last weekend….” 

“Hey, there’s nothing you should keep hidden from me now. I would have thought that after last weekend you would of thought so too.” Alec pulled the offending briefs down and gently wrapped his hand around his hard length. Magnus took in a sharp breath before melting into him.

“My mistake, consider them gone from now on.” 

He managed to get out before crashing his mouth back to Alec. Magnus eased out of his shoes and stepped out of the puddle of clothes around his ankles just before the fell onto the bed. Alec moved over the top of him, his mouth covering as much skin as he could. He felt Magnus' hands pulling down his unbuttoned jeans and he somehow got out of his shoes before he momentarily knelt back to take the jeans all the way off. Magnus was already reaching for him, one hand going to the back of his neck the other to his back, digging his fingers into the firm muscles below the skin. He used his weight to flip Alec so that he was underneath him and with hot wet kisses made his way down his body. Alec was fast getting to his limit once again. The man was unbelievable with how he could get him so hot and hard in such a short space of time. He felt a hand grip his throbbing cock and pull gently. He groaned loudly, his hands clenching into the quilt below them. 

The headache he had gotten earlier had completely gone, replaced by a thick fog of need and the only thought he had was how desperate he was for release and how much longer he was going to be able to hold back for. Then he felt Magnus’ warm wet mouth cover him and he screwed his eyes up tight, the exquisite sensation taking him right to the brink. 

“Fuck Magnus! I’m not gonna be able to hold back much longer with you doing that.” He growled through gritted teeth.

“Please tell me you have condoms.” Magnus breathed, after letting him fall from his lips.

“Top draw of the bedside table. I’ll get them.”  
Alec blindly reached for the drawer in the dark, his unbearable need making his fingers clumsy as he searched the draw for the line of little foil packets. Jace had gave them to him as a joke for his last birthday a few months before, along with a tube of lube, telling him they were practice equipment. At the time, he remembered getting embarrassed about it but now he found himself saying a silent prayer of thanks to his good friend. He got a strip of the condoms and held them out in the dark in Magnus’ direction. He didn’t know how it was possible because it was pitch black in the room but he felt Magnus’ fingers take them from him and then he heard the sound of foil ripping. Magnus had leaned back from him and he missed his warmth.

“I don’t suppose you have…….” Magnus started to say.

Alec reached back into the drawer and grabbed the small tube and tossed in onto the bed in his direction. Magnus must of found it because he heard him flip open the lid.

“I must say, you’re very well prepared for someone who is new to this.”

“You can thank Jace for that, he gave them to me a few months ago.” He heard Magnus chuckle.

“He really does know you better than you know yourself, unless of course, you're closer friends than I originally thought.”

“Oh no, no way. I might have had a bit of a crush on him when I was younger but that’s as far as it went. You couldn’t get anyone straighter than Jace.”

“Alexander, will I be your first?” Magnus asked him softly.

“Yes.”

“I’m very touched that you want me to be your first, Alexander, honored, in fact.” 

“Not that I don’t appreciate what you just said to me, Magnus, but if I don’t get to come soon, I’m think I’m gonna explode.” Alec said, his voice strained and tight. Even though he knew it was muffled, probably by his hand, he knew Magnus gave a quiet laugh.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we? Let me put you out of your misery.” 

He felt Magnus apply the lube and even though he wanted this to happen, he was still a little nervous about it.

“I promise I’ll go slow, my love.” Magnus said quietly.  
It always astounded Alec that he always seemed to know how he was feeling or what he was thinking. He must have been easier to read than he thought. Magnus pushed Alec to his side and curled in behind him. His arm went over his side and his hand fanned out over the soft hair of his chest. He left soft kisses over his shoulder and on his neck. Alec reached back and ran his hand through his hair, holding him as he moved up and down his skin, every now and then flicking his tongue over its surface and driving Alec to distraction. 

As he entered him, Magnus gave him a playful nip where his neck met his shoulder. Alec tensed reflexively and Magnus went back to his neck, peppering it with soft kisses his hand running down his body till he took his unbearably hard erection in his hand. Alec heard himself moan in pleasure and pushed back against him, the tension leaving him. 

“I’ve dreamed about doing this with you from the first moment I laid eyes on you, Alexander. I want to be a part of you.” He whispered into his ear, his voice had a slight tremor to it. Alec felt like his whole body was about to go up in flames. Jesus, the man was going to make him come and he wasn’t even inside him properly yet. He felt Magnus squeeze his throbbing cock and ease slowly into him. Alec gave a small cry but it was more for the foreign feeling of fullness than about any discomfort. Magnus stilled.

“Are you alright, handsome?” He said softly, kissing the curve of his ear.

“Yeah, but for fuck’s sake move.” Alec growled. He didn’t recognise his own voice, it sounded deep and carnal. His whole body was one massive raw nerve that point, he could feel every inch of Magnus’ warm body where it touched his own. His chest was rising and falling rapidly and for a few seconds he began to worry about hyperventilating. He felt Magnus withdraw then thrust forward once more while squeezing him and he made a tight keening noise in his throat as he teetered right on that edge that his body had been working towards. Magnus pulled back and thrust once more, this time slightly harder and Alec felt his panting breath hitch as he felt his lips near his ear once more.

“I’m falling in love with you, Alexander. I can’t be without you in my life anymore.”

Alec’s eyes flew wide as he felt Magnus thrust into him. All his senses hit him at once as he flew over that edge, a series of cries, starting with Magnus’ name, burst from him. He could feel Magnus releasing inside him as well, his damp skin lining his back. He could still sense his hand on him as he thrusted through each wave of his blinding ecstasy. Sparks seemed to be falling before his eyes. His nose was full of that wonderful scent that was pure Magnus and at that second in time the only thing he ever wanted to smell again. He was vaguely aware of a faint metallic taste in his mouth and he realised that he had bitten his lip.  
His cries were slowly growing quiet as his orgasm finally ended, leaving him feeling emotionally and physically exhausted.

Magnus was slumped against him, his face buried into the back of his neck. He could feel his hot breath on his skin. Alec was sure his bones had been replaced by warm liquid. His mind was starting clear and if he had any bad memories from earlier that night, they were crowded out with thoughts of the last half an hour. He was unable to stop the grin that had started on his lips from taking over his whole face. Then a single thought worked its way to the front of his mind. 

“Did you mean it?” Alec said quietly, and he turned to face Magnus who was laying with his face only a hair’s breadth from his.

“Yes, my love, I wouldn’t have said it if I hadn’t of. I’m not into whispering sweet nothings into ears to get what I want. That would be like cheating and the whole act would feel like a hollow victory.  
It’s been more years than I care to remember since the last time I felt anything for someone and it didn’t feel like this, I can assure you. I know it’s too early to be saying something like that but I’ve never been so certain about my feelings in my life. When I told you last weekend that I felt we had a special connection, I meant it, Alexander. I know I’m right, I can feel it in my soul. I don’t expect that you……..” 

Alec cut him off by kissing him hard. He used the elation that he felt inside him to power it and he could feel Magnus respond to him. When they finally parted, Alec’s hand was against his cheek, his thumb caressing his skin. Magnus’ own hand was on his arm, his fingers pressed into the muscle.

“The thing is you don’t have to expect me to feel the same way because I already do. At first, I thought it was because I had finally found someone whom I could just be me with, that I didn’t have to be fake around. I’ve never had that before, not even with Jace. But it’s more than that. Much more. I didn’t think there really was instant attraction, probably because until I met you, I never expected to feel it. I feel it now, Magnus, with my whole being. As crazy as it is, I think I’m falling for you too.” 

Alec looked deeply into his dark brown eyes that once again, held his own. They grew shiny and Alec was surprised to see the beginning of tears in them. His thumb stilled on his cheek.

“Shit, did I say something wrong?” 

Magnus didn’t reply he just put his lips to his for the most tender kiss Alec had ever felt. He could feel it filling him with warmth, making his entire body blush pink. Magnus lifted his head to smile back at him.

“Does that answer your question, my love? I don’t think you could of said anything more right. As strange as this may sound, this is a first for me too. I have to tell you, I have had other relationships, and I even thought I was in love with the last one, but I realise how wrong I was about that now. This, what we have, that’s what love should feel like. That past relationship was just a poor reproduction of it. I can see that now, thanks to you.”

He bent his head so that his brow rested against Alec’s, his nose gently rubbing against his. Alec smiled. Now he knew what he meant about an inner light because he could feel it blazing from deep within him and it felt fantastic. Then Magnus’ face grew serious.

“Alexander, if we are going to be together, then there are things that you need to know about me. Things that are going to be hard to get your head around. I’m a complicated person Alec, I just hope you can accept that about me when you know everything.”

Alec felt his skin tingle. He had always known that there was a mystery that surrounded Magnus but only seemed to fuel his attraction to him. His mind wanted to fill with endless scenarios about what he had just told him but he really didn’t want to destroy the mood by over thinking things now.

“Can we leave the heavy stuff for another time? All I want to do right now is lay here with you and feel you next to me. There’s been enough drama for one night. I don’t want to waste this feeling.” He pressed himself right up against Magnus, putting his head under his chin so his face was on the smooth skin of his chest. He felt Magnus give a short chuckle.

“Of course, we can, beautiful boy. I don’t want to waste it either.” He turned his head so that his cheek rested on top of Alec’s head and took in a deep breath before closing his eyes, his lips curved in a smile.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning found them still locked together. Alec stirred first and even before his eyes opened he became aware of being surrounded by a warm body. It felt so good to just be held by someone who you knew loved you unconditionally. Thoughts about what Magnus had said last night came back to him and he would have been lying to himself if it didn’t worry him about what he might tell him about himself. But Alec decided right then that whatever it was he wouldn’t let it change the way he felt about him. At the moment, his life was no walk in the park, either so if Magnus was willing to be with him through whatever was to come, then he could do the same. He touched his lips to the warmth of his chest, his tongue tasting its surface. He felt Magnus stir and his arms tightened around him.

“Hummm, good morning, handsome. I like your way of waking me up, it’s better than any alarm clock I’ve ever owned.” Alec started to snuggle into him, revelling in the feel of the vibration his voice had created deep in his chest but then his eyes flew open.

“Shit! What time is it? I have to get to work.” He quickly sat up and reached for his phone for the time. Six thirty. He let out a relieved breath. Thank God, he didn’t have to be there for another two hours. He fell back down and Magnus pulled him close.

“All good?” he asked him as he started to nuzzle into his neck. Alec could feel that boneless sensation starting again but he knew he had better start getting up. It took him half an hour to get to work on his bike and that was if he was lucky enough to miss the worst of the traffic.

“As much as I want to continue this, Magnus, some of us have a job to get to.” Alec said but he hadn’t managed to pull himself away from the feeling of his mouth working its way up and down his neck. He was beginning to see why Magnus liked it so much. He felt a sharp nip over the pulse point and he was instantly hard. But duty called. With a frustrated groan, he threw the covers back and got out of bed, grabbing fresh clothes.

“If I pay your wages for the day, would you call in sick and stay here with me?” Magnus asked him a sly grin on his face and one eye brow raised. For a minute, Alec was actually tempted to take him up on his offer but didn’t want to mess Pops around and besides, Jace had some serious explaining to do. Then Alec thought of another idea.

“As tempting as that is, I’m going to have to turn you down.”   
Alec really had to hold himself back from launching himself back on the bed and into Magnus’ arms when he saw the exaggerated pout on his face. “But, I think I might need a hand washing my back in the shower, that’s if you’re interested, that is.”

Alec had never seen someone move that quickly before. In one fluid motion, Magnus was out of bed and by his side, jamming his mouth to his and herding him towards the bathroom.

Alec had never been in such a good mood in the morning as he did that day. Even after the rocky start to the evening before, and the ever present thoughts of his and Izzy’s argument floating just below the surface, all his mind wanted to occupy its self with was his time with Magnus. 

He had left the small bathroom first so that Magnus had room to dress and went into the kitchen to make coffee. The whole process usually only took him a matter of seconds but thanks to the earth shattering blow job he’d received in the shower, his sanity still hadn’t returned. So far he had over filled the coffee pot, splashing water over his clean work pants, put the coffee filter into the machine but not the coffee and now, after taking a sip, he realised that he’d definitely had more than one spoonful of sugar in his cup. Not to mention the goofy grin he had on his face that seemed to of settled in permanently since Magnus’ arrival last night. He knew he really had to get his act together before he got to work for two main reasons. One, sex addled brains and car engines didn’t mix and two, Jace would tease him mercilessly if he even got the smallest hint of what he had been doing.

He shook his head and tried to clear his lust filled thoughts and for a few minutes he thought he was succeeding, even losing the stupid grin. He went to his door and opened it, picking up the paper that had been delivered. He had just pushed it closed and turned back around when Magnus came into the living room. Holy shit, the man was hot. Alec hadn’t taken any notice of what he had been wearing when he had gotten there the night before but he sure did now. His broad shoulders and well toned torso was filling out a deep blue silk shirt that had a small print on it. Black pants fell loosely from his narrow hips and his feet were covered by a pair of pointed toe boots. He had styled his raven hair into its customary spikes, the longer front strands a deep magenta. He made Alec’s mouth water and heart start pounding immediately. He dropped the paper and covered the space between them in two long strides before crashing his mouth to his and meshing himself against his body, tight enough to feel every hard ridge of muscle. So much for clearing his head. He felt Magnus’ hands sliding inside the back of his jeans, squeezing the top of his butt. He let a groan leave him.

“Alec?”

The sound of his name felt foreign to him at that moment and he almost ignored it until he realised that Magnus had pulled back from him and was looking at something over his shoulder. He frowned and turned his head. He blanched at the slight of Lydia standing just inside the door, a tray with two take away coffees and a paper bag from a local bakery in her hand. A hand that was now trembling. 

“After you text me last night I started to worry that there was something really wrong. I didn’t want to come last night when you had said not to but I thought I’d bring coffee and some rolls for breakfast. I thought you might have needed someone to talk to.” She gave a nervous laugh. “But I can see you already have that.” 

Alec went over to where she was standing and took the coffees from her hand seconds before they would of crashed to the floor.

“Lydia, I’m really sorry, I wanted to tell you tonight. I never meant……………..”

“For me to find out? I knew there was something not right between us, but I thought it might have been me, or at worst, you’d started seeing another woman. But this, this wasn’t in any of my scenarios.” Tears were streaming down her face and her shoulders shook. Alec was starting to feel about two foot tall.

“No, Lydia, I never wanted to hurt you. I’m an asshole, I should of said something a week ago. It’s just, this has all sort of happened really quickly and I’ve barely gotten my head around it myself. I really am sorry.” In a flash, Lydia’s face went from distraught to angry.

“Well, guess what, you did hurt my feelings. I suppose some of that is on me because there was nothing really serious between us and we’ve only been seeing each other for a month. But I find it hard to believe that you suddenly turned gay in that time. The whole problem, Alec, is that you were such a nice guy, a nice straight guy and I fell for it. Maybe you should consider a career change and become an actor instead.” 

“Lydia, I wanted to talk to you about this, there’s things I need to explain to you………….” She raised her hand and Alec felt a stinging slap on his cheek, making his eye water. Whoa! Ok, he probably deserved that.

“I don’t think I really want to hear anything from you right now. If ever. Goodbye Alec.” She turned and went out the door.

Alec felt slightly shell shocked at how he could of gone from deliriously happy to feeling like the biggest asshole that walked the planet in such a short space of time. He was still standing in the living room facing the door when Magnus came up beside him.

“Are you alright, my love? I didn’t see that left hook of hers but I swear I felt it. She’s angry and upset, Alexander, she’ll calm down, I’m sure.” Magnus gave his red cheek a gentle touch with his fingers. Alec could see the concern on his face and it made him feel worse.

“No, she’s right. I deserved that. I should of said something to her a week ago, or better yet, never led her on in the first place.”  
He bent his head, staring blindly at the floor. Magnus laid a hand on either side of his face and brought it up so he was looking back at him once more. He gently brushed his lips against his.

“I think you’re being just a little bit too hard on yourself, Alexander. Yes, you were wrong not to tell her sooner but being in denial about yourself for all those years can hardly be called a crime. I’m sure if you give her a couple of days then try to explain things to her, she’ll be more reasonable.” Alec looked into Magnus’ worried eyes. He just felt like he might have to pay a very high price for being his true self and to be with Magnus. 

“Hey, no doubts, my love. This always did have the potential to be a bumpy road, you knew that but whatever you do, don’t go backwards. I don’t care what Miss million dollar baby says, you are still a nice guy. Being gay hasn't changed that.” He put his lips to his once again and Alec felt some of the tension and sadness he felt leaving him


	15. Chapter 15

Magnus had wanted to give him a ride to work in his car but Alec wanted to take his bike so he could get back home that night without any hassles. He was surprised to see that he was actually only five minutes late and that for once his luck was running, as Pops had gone out on an early morning delivery. 

Jace came belting up to him the second he walked into the workshop.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry about last night. The battery was dead in my car and I couldn’t find my phone. How did it go, anyway?” 

“It was a total train wreck. I don’t know if Izzy will ever talk to me again and after this morning, Lydia’s probably looking up numbers for contract killers.” Alec said.

“What the heck happened, man? I thought you were seeing both of them last night?”

Alec gave him a run down on his disastrous night and morning. Jace looked back at him in shock.

“Shit, I would of thought Izzy would have been more supportive than that but maybe she’ll come around if you give her a bit of space. I would have been a pretty big shock to find out that your brother is gay, not just some quiet introvert destined to be a monk or something. As for Lydia, I can’t help but feel responsible for some of that. I shouldn’t have encouraged you to go out with her in the first place. Clary was sort of pushing it a bit and, you know what it’s like with girlfriends. Oh hang on, you don’t really, do you?” 

Alec gave him a look and playfully thumped his arm. He’d been all set to really rip into Jace about his absence the night before but after all the drama he just wanted the support of his best friend. 

“Geez, is that all you got? Maybe coming out made you weak as well. I wonder if your ex would be willing to give you a few lessons.” Jace smirked at him. Alec could help but smile and he launched himself at Jace, pretending to wrestle with him but it ended with both of them in a hug. 

“Hey, set a date and buy a couple of rings or get back to God damn work, will ya?” Pops’ voice rang out through the work shop. Jace and Alec let each other go and snickered. Trust their boss to catch them again. 

The rest of the day went well, and by the time Alec was heading home, his mood had lightened considerably. Not that he had forgotten anything but for the time being he decided to give his brain a rest. His only despondent thought was that Magnus wasn’t going to be there waiting for him. He entered his street and the lighter mood vanished when he saw a familiar blue BMW out the front of his building. He parked his bike in his space and walked to the front door where Izzy was standing waiting for him. 

“Look Izzy, I really don’t think I can take another round tonight so if you……………..” He started but his sister cut him off.

“Boy, I really must have been horrible last night, huh? Alec, I came to apologise.” Alec was in the process of opening the front door and he was sure he would of fallen through it, flat on his face, if he hadn’t of been hanging on to the handle. He looked back at her, wide eyed, mouth open.

“Yeah yeah, I know. Can we go to your place and talk?” She asked him. Alec broke out of his daze and nodded.

“Yeah, of course.”

When they got into his apartment, Izzy settled herself on the sofa and Alec sat beside her. 

“I want to start off by saying I really am sorry for last night, Alec. I was so wrong to act that way with you. You needed support and all I gave you was a hard time. I’m not making excuse for how I acted but I think it was because I was just worried about you. Not being where you were supposed to be and not knowing why really threw me.” Alec grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I’m sorry I made you worry like that. I just wasn’t ready to say where I really was. I didn’t tell Jace either. I was worried about what everyone would say.”

“Yeah, and then you come home and I go all raging bitch on you. No wonder you didn’t want to say anything. But you telling me your gay was the last thing I thought you were going to say. I feel so stupid that I didn’t know something like that about my only brother.”

“Don’t be. I kept it hidden well. Even from myself. But it was getting harder and harder. I was pretty tightly wrapped, I can tell you. Now I know what a shaken bottle of soda with the lid still screwed on feels like.” Izzy smiled at him and put her other hand over their joined ones.

“Has being gay given you a way with words or have you always been this way and I’ve never noticed?” she laughed. Alec let her hand go and wrapped his arms around her small shoulders.

“I really am sorry Alec, I hope you can forgive me and I want you to know I’m here for you. Simon as well.” Her voice was muffled against his shirt. They pulled back from each other, smiling.

“I want to say one more thing. You were right about something else too. While I was lying awake last night I realised that what you said about Mum and dad was spot on. I was like you, I did feel like I was expected to act a certain way. They were forever telling us about how they had nothing as kids and how they had worked their way up to get where they were in life.  
It kind of made me feel that I owed it to them to do well at school and college. Not that I regret becoming a lawyer as well but I can’t help thinking what it might have been like if I had been brave like you and done something different with my life.”

“Oh yeah, I was real brave. I couldn’t even tell them I was gay.” 

“You can be brave in some ways but still have insecurities about other things, I think and let’s face it Mum and Dad aren’t the easiest people to talk to. So, can you tell me about your man? What’s he like?”

Alec couldn’t help the grin that took over his expression, it just seemed to happen automatically whenever he had even the smallest thoughts of Magnus. Izzy smiled back at him.

“Oh my God, Alec, you’re positively lit up, look at you! I’ve never seen you look like this about anything, let alone anyone. He really must be special for you to be like that.”

Alec felt his face heating, but it was one time he didn’t care. All that mattered was that he had his sister’s support and it meant a lot to him. It didn’t surprise him that his first thought was that he couldn’t wait to tell Magnus. 

“I know it’s crazy and we’ve only known each other for a bit more than a week, but he is special to me and he feels the same way. “ Izzy grabbed her brother and held him tight.

“I’m so happy for you, Alec. You deserve this. I hope it keeps being that way for both of you. I can’t wait to meet him.”   
“Yeah, maybe one day soon. It’s still early days yet.”

“whenever you’re both ready is fine. Well, I’d better get back home. Simon was cooking dinner tonight and I want to make sure that the kids didn’t talk him into chicken nuggets and fries.” She laughed and rose from the sofa. Alec followed her to the door.

“Oh, how did it go with the girl you were seeing, have you told her yet?”

“That was probably a bigger mess than our fight.” Alec told her about his turbulent morning with Lydia. Izzy winced.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you. I hope you get the opportunity to talk to her about it.”

“Yeah I think I’ve got a better chance of flying to the moon and back, but we’ll see.” 

They said their final good byes and Izzy left.


	16. Chapter 16

At lunch the next day at work, Alec told Jace about his reunion with Izzy. 

“That’s so great, man. I knew she’d cool down eventually. So, are you feeling brave enough to tell your parents yet?”

“Seems I get a reprieve from that. They both had to go out of town for a case they’re working on so I get to dodge those bullets for a few days, at least.” Alec bit into his salad roll.

“So, I suppose it’s off to Mr Wonderful’s hidden house of pleasure for the weekend again?” Alec gave him a look.

“If by that you mean Magnus’ place in the country, then yes, I am. I called him last night and told him about Izzy. He was really happy for me. He’s been really supportive and patient with me about this. At least he doesn’t have any family that might give us grief over everything. Although, Raphael let me know that I was on probation with him in no uncertain terms.”

“Really? Isn’t he just a driver, butler, or something?”

“Yeah, I think he might be a bit more than that. Magnus told me he was more of a friend than anything else.”

“A very protective friend by the sounds of things. Are you going to tell Magnus about what he said to you?”

“Nah, I don’t think so. I don’t want to cause trouble for him and it’s kind of good knowing someone has Magnus’ back. I don’t think he has anyone else.” Alec took another bite of his lunch and chewed thoughtfully. Next thing he knew, Jace was edging closer to his side. He gave him a wary look, not sure what he was up to.

“So, can I ask you something?”

Alec was almost scared at what he was going to say. His best friend was capable of coming out with some wild stuff when he wanted to.

“Yeah?” 

“So, what’s it like, to kiss another guy?”

Alec almost choked on the remains of his roll. He had sort of been expecting something like this from Jace. He knew his curiosity about Magnus would get the better of him eventually. But he had hoped that he would at least ease into the personal questions. He should of known better.  
“Why do you want to know? Something you want to tell me?” He raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. Jace tried to look mortified at the very idea.

“No! Shit, no! Are you crazy? I ah, I was just curious, that’s all. I mean, you’ve kissed girls before and I was just wondering how it compared. Obviously I know what it’s like, to kiss girls, that is, so I just thought I’d ask about kissing guys, you know, just in case the subject ever comes up in conversation.” 

Alec couldn’t help but laugh at his friend. Jace was just trying to find a way into asking him if he had slept with Magnus. Nothing had changed with him since they were in school together. Jace had always played twenty questions with him when he had been on a date that he had set up for him. In a way, he was glad that he still wanted all the details of his love life, that nothing had changed. But there was no way he would say that to him. He didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Besides, this was an opportunity to get some of his own back after being forced to hear blow by blow descriptions of Jace’s dates over the years.

“Yeah, well, I could see where that might happen. You and some of your club buddies sitting around, talking about this and that and the subject of kissing another guy comes up in casual conversation. You’d want to be well informed about it, you know, in case someone got it wrong or something.” Alec tried to act as serious as he could, even looking off thoughtfully in the distance. He looked at Jace out of the corner of his eye and he seemed to be buying it.

“Exactly, I mean if you have to correct someone about something, you want to make sure you know what you’re talking about.” Alec purposefully stayed silent for a few more minutes. Jace was sitting there looking at him expectantly, like he was about tell him the meaning of life. 

“What you have to understand first is, well, I’m hardly an expert. Magnus is the first guy I’ve ever kissed so I can only say what he was like.” 

“Oh yeah, I understand all that. So, how was it?” 

Showtime, Alec thought.

“It was the best kiss I’ve ever had. It was so forceful but soft and warm at the same time and what that man can do with his tongue, well, it sends shivers up my spine just thinking about it. You want to know the best thing about kissing Magnus is? The way his goatee tickles my skin. I’m seriously thinking about growing my own to return the favor.”

Alec pretended to look all dreamy eyed and love sick. Jace looked like he’d just been given a running commentary on open heart surgery. 

“Yeah, it’s so hot. I can’t help thinking about when Magnus stayed over the other night and he was working his way down to my……….”

“Arghhh! Enough! Enough! I’m sorry I asked. Geez, too much information, man, shit!”

Jace had his hands over his ears like a little kid and his eyes were screwed tightly shut. Alec burst out laughing at his friend and gave him a playful shove. Jace took his hands away and opened his eyes His cheeks had gone pink.

“Well, you asked, I thought you wanted to be informed.” Alec chuckled. It was very rare to get one up on Jace Wayland and he intended to remember this for a long while to come.

“Just a simple, it was nice or something would of done. Boy, did coming out break your filter or what?” 

“Why, scared of what else I might tell you? Like what we got up to in the shower that morning? You have no idea………….” Alec said, digging Jace in the ribs, enjoying the pained look on his face.

“Alec, shit! Stop! No more. Please!” He begged, but he was laughing at the same time. 

They didn’t notice the shadow falling over them as they wrestled each other on the ground.

“If you two can keep your hands off each other for long enough, there’s some guy asking for you in the workshop.” 

Alec and Jace got to their feet and looked at each other then back at Pops. 

“What guy and which one of us does he want?” Alec asked. He doubted that it would be him. Jace had a wider social network than he did.

“He’s all yours Lightwood. Asked for you by name. Seems you have a fan. Try not to get jealous, Wayland.” Pops said as he walked off back inside.

Alec really had no idea who it could be. Maybe someone Magnus knew, but he doubted it. He felt Jace poke him in the ribs.

“while you’re standing there thinking about who it is, you could be finding out. Come on, let’s go.”

They went back around to the front of the workshop. A late model sleek black Audi sat in the customer parking area with a solidly built older looking guy leaning up against it. As soon as he saw Alec and Jace, he stood up, his hands going into the pockets of his suit trousers. Alec had no idea about clothing labels but he would of bet money on the way the man wore the dark suit he had on that it had cost more than he made in six months. Jace hung back as Alec went closer to him and he saw an easy smile curve his lips. His eyes were covered with a pair of dark sunglasses and they gave him the appearance of a secret service agent. 

“You must be Alec Lightwood? Hello, I’m Val, Val Morgenstern.” He stuck a large hand out and Alec took it, feeling his firm grip.

“What can I do for you Mr Morgenstern?”

“Please, call me Val. I heard you’re a pretty good when it comes to these European cars so I brought mine in to see if you could work on it. It’s just not running right.” He said.

“Do you mind if I ask how you got my name, Val?”

There was something about this guy that made Alec slightly nervous. He just couldn’t put his finger on it, though.

“Oh boy, I really can’t remember who it was now. It was a while ago, some party or other. Anyway, I was told you were good so, here I am. What do you think? Would you have a look at it for me?”

He took off his sunglasses and revealed a pair of deep green eyes. 

“Yeah, sure. If you want to go see Pops he can book it in for you.” 

Alec would have been lying if he denied that he was flattered that someone had given this guy his name. He did work on quite a few foreign made cars, it could have been any one of their owners who had recommended him, he supposed. 

“I’ll do that. Nice to meet you Alexander. I’ll see you soon, then.” He put the sunglasses back on and headed for the office. 

It wasn’t until he was telling Jace about their conversation that he realized that Val Morgenstern had called him Alexander and as soon as he did, that prickle of uncertainty flared once more.


	17. Chapter 17

The rest of the week passed by with no other dramas and on Saturday night, Alec was happy to be back in Magnus’ arms in his large bed with its cool satin sheets. After a day filled with a visit to their favorite part of the garden and a trip to the lake where they had another fabulous picnic lunch, they returned to the house where a welcoming fire in the living room fireplace had been lit. They snuggled up together on the big sofa and watched a movie which ended up being more of a make out session when they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. 

That night, they had dinner in the sumptuous dining room. A huge dark polished wooden table, able to seat twelve people stood in the middle of the room. The matching chairs upholstered in a deep red velvet material. The walls were covered in various paintings of landscapes and portraits, all with large ornate frames. There were a few black and white photos as well and after they had eaten Alec asked Magnus to show them to him. 

“As you can see, this house is quite old. When I found it, it was very run down but I’ve managed to bring the grand old lady back to life, I think. It would have been a crime to just let her fade away into ruin.” Magnus told him as they stood in front of an aging picture which showed an angled view of the house. Alec noticed that nothing much had changed about it over the many years it had been standing. 

He moved on to one of the paintings. It was a striking portrait of a man who if Alec didn’t know better could have been Magnus himself. He was dressed in period clothes, very ornate and rich looking. His deep brown eyes staring back at him from the canvas. 

“He has to be a relation of yours.” Alec said, looking back to Magnus.

“Yes, that’s my four times great Grandfather. I was named after him, apparently.” Alec noticed a strange look on his face as looked up at the painting.

I think you two share the same taste in clothes too. He looks like he knew how to dress back in his day. Like you do now.” Magnus gave him a smile.

“Why, thank you Alexander, I’m pleased you think so. Yes, the man knew his designers back then. That silk is all hand embroidered and imported from China. The lace at the collar and cuffs as fine as spider’s silk. You just don’t get that sort of quality anymore.” Alec frowned and looked over at him. Magnus was looking back at the portrait like it was a fond memory.

“Wow, you must really know a lot about him to know details like that.” Magnus took in a deep breath and broke out of his reverie to turn back to Alec. 

“I have a detailed family history around here somewhere. I’d rather discuss your clothes, however, and how much better they would look lying on the floor of my bedroom.” 

Alec had felt himself blush all over and Magnus had grabbed the front of the hoodie he had been wearing and pulled him in for a deep kiss.  
They had been wrapped around each other after making love, twice, and Alec had drifted off into a blissfully tired sleep.

He had no idea what time it was when he woke up some time later. It was still dark, though, the only light coming from a single lamp which stood on a small table in a corner of the room. Alec felt a chill on his skin and he reached out for Magnus’ warmth to curl back into him but his hand found only the cool silky sheets. He frowned and sat up to look at the empty side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and peered around the room but he was nowhere to be found. He threw back the covers and padded over to the bathroom but it was empty. Maybe Magnus had gone down to the kitchen or the living room for some reason. He grabbed his jeans from the floor where they had been dragged off him earlier and headed for the door.

Alec was about to start for the stairs when he heard a faint noise that seemed to come from somewhere behind him. He turned and looked around him. Even though Magnus’ bedroom was the last door on that side of the landing, the turned wood of the railing continued a little further up passed the row of doors where it turned at a right angle to end at another door Alec hadn’t noticed before. The door itself was standing slightly ajar and Alec followed the landing around to it.   
A faint light showed from the top of a set of stairs that led up to yet another level of the house. Alec wasn’t sure he should go any further but when he heard yet another noise coming from the open door, he decided to take the risk to see if Magnus was up there.

He tried to step as lightly as his six foot three frame would allow him to in case the stairs creaked and gave his approach away. He took the last step and found himself in a dimly lit room with sloping walls and a low ceiling. He realized he must be in an attic space. It was obviously used as storage from the groups of misshapen piles of objects. Dust covered sheets covered much of the unseen belongings, there being enough light to see a glimpse of a turned leg of a chair or table. Another door at the end of the room was open and the source of the light was coming from it. Alec heard a noise that sounded like someone dropping something heavy to the floor coming from within it. Alec started to make his way through the room between the drop cloth covered mountains either side of him. He stood behind the open door, the various noises of movement louder now he was close. He took a deep breath and slowly peeked around it.

Magnus was in the middle of a small room whose wall were floor to ceiling shelves. They were crammed full with a myriad of objects. There were plants in various sizes of pots on one shelf, some trailing green stems down towards the shelf below. Jars of every shape and description took up the majority of the space. Some were labelled with ancient looking paper that had a cursive script written on it. Alec had no idea what could be in them. On the opposite wall the shelves were taken up by books. Magnus really did have a thing for them, Alec thought as he looked at them. These looked even more aged than the ones on his book shelves in the living room. Some had tatty looking spines and others looked leather bound. Magnus was surrounded by piles of them that had come from the lower shelves judging from the empty spaces he saw. He was looking around at them, frowning. One hand on his hip and the other pinching his lower lip. Alec wondered what could have been so important about these books that had him up in the middle of the night. It must have been something serious. He decided to come from around the door so he could go and help him with whatever he was looking for so that he could come back to bed and they could lay in each other’s arms again.  
Magnus still had his back to him as he stepped just inside the room. He was about to say his name when he saw Magnus lift his hand, holding the palm flat. He clicked his fingers, the sharp sound filling the room. As Alec watched, an ethereal blue flame materialised from the centre of his hand. He raised it up so that the hand was now facing the books and as Alec watched, wide eyed and in shock, the flame extended towards the shelves and several of the books left their places and moved through the space towards Magnus where, with a sweep of his hand, they thumped down onto the top of one of the other piles. As if that wasn’t enough, Alec watched as Magnus picked up the top one and held his hand over its worn cover, the misty looking blue flame hovering above it for a few seconds before he extinguished the flame by scrunching up his hand and he placed the book onto a different pile before reaching for another one.

Alec hadn’t realized that his mouth was hanging open until he tried to swallow and his mouth was as dry as a desert. He felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at the man he had, only a few hours before, made love with and had enjoyed every second. He felt rooted to the spot, his brain still atrophied by what he had just witnessed, his legs unable to move. Who the fuck was this man? Was he a man? He began to doubt every second of the past two weeks he had known him. His first coherent thought was he had to leave. Hopefully without Magnus realizing he was gone. He willed his legs to start moving and he managed to turn but the stiffness had now turned to shaking and he felt tremors of disbelief and fear moving through his whole body, making his legs want to give way from underneath him. He hit the half open door hard with his shoulder, causing it to bang into the nearest sheeted pile. His eyes flew to where Magnus was standing and saw him looking at him with horrified shock. Once again, he felt seized to the spot. Magnus recovered first, his face had blanched and it went from surprise to concern.

“Alexander, I……….” He started to say, and began to move forward towards him. 

“No! don’t come near me!” Alec managed to get out before he let go of the door handle he had been hanging on to and forced himself to move as quickly as he could back through the gloomy junk filled attic.

“Alec, wait! I need to explain!” He heard Magnus say behind him as he got to the stairs. He took the steps two at a time and in his hurry to get away, managed to make it to the last one before he felt his shaky legs give way and he felt hard on his butt when his ankle rolled painfully to the side. 

Magnus materialised right before him. He cried out and tried to stand but his injured ankle refused to support his weight and he crashed back down, his back hitting the front of the step sending shooting sparks of pain radiating through him.

“Alexander! Don’t move! You’ll only hurt yourself more. Let me help you.” Magnus reached out to him, but he pulled away, terrified of what he might do to him.

“No! go away! Don’t you dare touch me! What the fuck are you, anyway? Are you even human?” Alec yelled back at him, pressing himself as far back into the stairs as he could get.

If he had been in his right mind, he would of noticed the absolutely devastated look on Magnus’ face. His eyes shone with unshed tears and his perfect mouth was drawn down at the corners. He knelt slowly in front of him, getting down to his level.

“I had no intention of having you find out this way, Alexander. I wanted to try to explain it to you this weekend. I know how this must all look….”

“You have no fucking idea how this looks to me! I must be going out of my mind, things like this just aren’t real. People like you only exist in books, kid’s stories. I just…I just can’t get my head around what I saw.” He cried and then he saw movement behind Magnus and Raphael appeared his face looking grime. He went to come near them but Magnus shot out a hand to stop him.

“It’s alright, Raphael, I’m fine. Alexander just took a tumble on those steep stairs. He found my work room.”

Raphael glared down at Alec so hard Alec feared he would burst into flames.

“What were you doing sneaking around here at night after all Magnus………….” He growled at him but Magnus turned sharply back to him and silenced him with a single look.

“This wasn’t Alec’s fault, Raph, it was mine. I received a message a couple of hours ago which required my urgent attention and I had to come to the work room and I left the door open. I don’t want to hear any more about this being his fault, am I being clear enough.?”

Magnus’ voice was strong and deep and had the desired effect on Raphael. He cast his eyes down and gave a small curt nod of his head before turning back the way he had came. Magnus took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking back at Alec. The sadness had returned to their fathomless depths.

“I’m afraid, Raph can be a little over protective at times. We’ve been companions for a long time now and he’s seen me through some rough times. Alexander, can you please allow me to help you? Let me get you up off that hard step and help you back to the bed and we can talk about all of this.” His voice had softened once again and he gave Alec a pleading look. 

Alec had just about gotten his breathing and racing heart beat back to a less dangerous pace. His brain no longer screamed at him to get away, reasoning that if Magnus had wanted to hurt him he would have done so before now. He was still on edge, however. He was also having a hard time believing he was capable of being this calm after what he had just seen. His mind wanted to ramp up his anxiety levels and get out by any means possible but he couldn’t look at Magnus and not still have the deep feelings for him that he had felt only a short time ago. Despite all the madness, he still saw the man he was falling in love with.  
By some crazy miracle, he still felt that bond they both shared. It was confusing the hell out of him.

Magnus slowly stood up and offered a hand to help him. Alec looked up at his face and now he was calmer he could practically feel the pain rolling off him. He’d never seen anyone look so despondent before and it made Alec hurt to see him like it. 

He took his hand, half expecting to feel a burning sensation from it but it was just warm and strong, like it had been all the other times he had felt it on his skin. Magnus moved cautiously closer to him, watching his face for any sign that he might reject his touch. Alec took his weight on his good leg but winced at the pain in his back where it had hit the step. He’d definitely have a bruise there. Magnus put one arm around his waist and lifted Alec’s arm so it went across his shoulders and they slowly and painfully headed for the bedroom.


	18. Chapter 18

By the time they had made it to the bed and Magnus helped him ease onto it, his ankle was throbbing painfully. Magnus fussed around him nervously. He plumped the pillows behind his back and put one under his ankle. He grabbed a robe that had been hanging behind the door and draped it around Alec’s bare shoulders, pulling it at the front to cover as much of his chest as possible. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and called Raphael, giving him instructions to bring two mugs of hot tea. His flighty movements were starting to get to Alec. He wasn’t used to being fussed over at the best of times so this was really testing his patience.

“Magnus, can you please stop? You’re not helping my anxiety levels or yours.” He said and Magnus finally stilled, taking a tentative seat on the foot of the bed.

“Is it alright if I sit here?” He asked him. 

Alec couldn’t believe it was Magnus that was the one acting nervous and upset. It should have been him but after the initial shock had worn off, a strange calm had taken over him. The whole thing was surreal and if it hadn’t been for the pain in his ankle and back he would have thought he was still in bed, next to Magnus, dreaming.

“Yes, it’s fine. You need to start talking though. Starting with who you really are.” 

Magnus was about to open his mouth when a soft knock at the door signaled Raphael’s arrive with a tray filled with tea things. Alec noticed he made a point of not looking at him as he put the tray down on top of a chest of drawers near the door. He gave Magnus a barely noticeable nod before leaving once more, closing the door behind him. Magnus flew up off the bed like he had a spring underneath him and went over to the tray and began pouring tea into two white mugs. He brought one over to Alec and sat it next to him on the bedside chest before getting his own and then perching himself of the corner of the bed again. He took a sip before he turned to face Alec, his face showing his inner turmoil. 

“I just want to say that I’m so very sorry that you had to find out about me like this. I really did want to tell you properly. You deserve to know everything if you are going to be part of my life. I hope you still will after I tell you all this but I can’t blame you for running away screaming. It wouldn’t be the first time.” His eyes flew to Alec’s and they were shiny with tears once more. Boy this really was heavy if it was affecting him like this. It made Alec’s nerves flare again.

“That’s okay. It wasn’t your fault. I should have stayed in bed instead of looking for you.” 

“No, I should have made sure the door was shut so we could have had this conversation at a more reasonable hour. Are you sure you’re up to doing this now?” 

“I can’t see me going back to sleep any time soon with all this rattling around in my head and my ankle and back aching, so now’s as good a time as any.” Magnus looked at Alec’s bruised ankle and bit his lip. He could ease his pain, but did he dare ask?

“Alexander, I can make your ankle and your back better, but I don’t want to upset you any more than I already have. I’ll text Raph and tell him to bring up some pain killers.” He went to take out his phone from his pocket.

“No, don’t bother Raphael, it’s not that bad now. I just want to talk with you about all this.” 

The truth of it was that the pain in his ankle was keeping him grounded in the reality of the situation, like an anchor. Also, he had no wish to see Raphael again and he was fairly sure he would feel the same way.   
Magnus took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to center himself enough for what he was about to say. His greatest fear was that Alec would want to end their relationship right there, regardless of whether they were falling in love or not. But he knew he had to explain everything to him, he owed him that.

“Alright, here goes. I’m a warlock, Alexander. I’m capable of performing magic, not the fake stage show kind, the real kind. I’m part of a world that co exists with yours but most people have no idea about it. You could say I’m like a security guard between your world and mine. I help stop the really bad things from crossing over from one to the other. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of us around so occasionally they get through. We try our best.  
There are points around the world where there are like gateways for these things and that’s where warlocks tend to live, so we can better protect your world from theirs.”  
He paused and gave Alec a hopeful look.

“How are you doing so far? Are you okay?"

Alec was doing his best to take in every word that Magnus had just spoken but it was hard. He knew from his first sentence that this was going to be life changing for him. He felt like he had been suddenly woken up from a dream that he thought was reality.

“what things are you talking about, exactly?”

“Demons, mostly. Some are worse than others.”

“So, are you, human?” This was the question he really had been dreading to answer.

“I am human, Alec, well, part human. My mother was just an ordinary woman.” He leaned down to put his cup on the floor. 

“And the other part?"

It was a question that he knew he needed to ask but didn’t want to hear the answer to at the same time. The room was so silent it was deafening.

“Demon. I’m part demon. It’s how I’m able to produce magic.” 

Magnus hung his head, looking at his hands as his fingers twined tightly through each other. He didn’t want to see what Alec’s face looked like, it was too painful. He screwed his eyes up tightly against the sting of the impending tears but he felt the first of them fall, hitting the back of his hands. Oh God, why had this have to happen to him again? Admittedly, last time he had been with the other man longer before he found out but this time he had been sure he had felt something stronger between Alec and himself and that just maybe, it would have been enough to keep him. He frowned down at his hands as he thought about how cruel his existence could be to him. This was the one of the worst things about it.

“What exactly does being part demon mean?” Magnus slowly raised his head. Alec had asked him a question, not the first reaction he had envisaged him having. Somewhere very deep within him a very small ember of hope brightened. 

“Pretty much what I just told you. I can perform magic, both through my body and with the help of spells. All warlocks have a demon mark; if it doesn’t show itself at birth then it becomes clearer by the age of ten. Some marks are more visible than others, horns, colored skin, things like that. My type of mark didn’t show until I was nine years old. In a lot of ways, it was worse than having the other kind. It made my mother think I was a normal child for longer.”

Even though Alec’s mind was in complete turmoil over all this, he would have been completely heartless if he didn’t see how deeply all this was effecting Magnus. The part of him that still cared for him was desperate to take him in his arms and hold him but he needed to hear it all so he had any hope of processing the information.

“What happened when she found out?” 

“She killed herself.” Magnus’ voice was just above a whisper. The tears fell quicker now, hitting the sleeves of the robe he had on, darkening its rich blue color.   
Alec felt like someone had just tipped a bucket full of cold water down his back.

“Fuck, Magnus, I’m so sorry. That must have been terrible for you. What happened after that?”

“I was basically passed around from one warlock family to another until I turned sixteen and was able to be assigned to an area. I’ve been here ever since.”

Alec’s eyes grew wide.

“You mean here? In this house? That must mean you’re, what? Twenty seven or eight, so like fourteen years?” 

Magnus looked back at him. He closed his eyes and took in a shuddering breath.

“It’s actually a bit longer than that.”

“How much longer? You don’t look any older than thirty, at the most?”

“The thing about being a warlock is, we stop aging at different times. Some of us reach middle age before it happens, some younger. I was twenty- eight. The other thing about it is, it makes us immortal.” 

Magnus once again braced himself for the inevitable, the sight of Alec running from the room. A few seconds passed, then five minutes came and went and Alec was still sitting on the bed. That flickering ember brightened once again.

“so, you can’t die?” Alec asked. His voice was a little high pitched from strain but it was steadier than Magnus had expected it to be.

“Oh no, I can. I’m vulnerable to certain things the same as any other person. If I was in a bad accident or I was shot or stabbed, or another warlock attacked me I could very easily die. The only thing I’m immune to is disease. But as long as I can dodge all those things, then yes, I can go on living.”

“So, how……” Alec started but Magnus had anticipated the question.

“I’m four hundred and twenty- eight years old. When I told you that first night that I was older than you, I meant it.”

His face flickered with a weak smile and it died on his lips almost as soon as it had appeared. Once again, he waited for the usual reaction and as before, Alec surprised him by staying where he was.

The ember started to glow now. Could he be lucky enough to keep his love this time? He warred within himself to not get too hopeful but it was hard not to when all the other times this had happened the person had had been long gone before now.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”Magnus ventured, looking over to Alec. He still looked shell shocked and pale but he seemed calm. He huffed out a breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“Ah, wow, Magnus. I really don’t know what to say. It’s hard to get my head around all this. When I think about what you’ve lived through, it’s incredible. I just, I have no words.” He just looked back him, dumbfounded. At this point, he felt anything else Magnus might tell him wasn’t going to affect him too much, his mind was pretty much blown as it is.

“Do you want to see my mark?” Magnus asked him, timidly. Alec had to admit to himself that he was curious about what it could be. He was acquainted with the man’s body enough to know it wasn’t anything blatantly obvious. He nodded his head and waited.

Magnus looked directly into his eyes and Alec felt himself stop breathing. Two golden glowing orbs looked back at him where once Magnus’ deep brown eyes had been. The pupils were a narrow slit down the middle of each one. Alec was held captive by them. They were amazing and hypnotic to him. Then just as suddenly as they had appeared, they vanished and two dark brown eyes looked back at him once more. Alec blinked rapidly a few times and shook his head.

“Jesus, Magnus, you’re eyes are beautiful. Scary, but beautiful."

Magnus had been looking down again but when he heard what Alec had said, his head flew back up and he felt his heart beat faster. Had he really heard correctly? Did he say, they were beautiful?  
His mouth opened and closed a few times before he was able to actually speak.

“Do you…..do you mean that?” he croaked, his dry throat making him hoarse.

“Yes, I mean it. You’re going to think I’m nuts after everything that’s gone on here tonight but I swear I’ve seen your eyes change before.” Now it was Magnus’ turn to look shocked.

“When was it?”

“the very first time I saw you coming down those stairs. It was just a flicker and I thought I was seeing things. Then last weekend when we were on the sofa and you were kissing me, I thought I saw it then as well.” 

Alec became very concerned about how Magnus was looking at him. He’d gone very still and pale. His eyes as big as saucers. He saw him swallow hard, making his Adam’s apple bop up and down hard. Oh shit, what was wrong now? He watched as he rose from the bed and for a few seconds, he thought he was going to leave but then he sat back down, edging closer to him. He gave him a wary look, unsure what to expect and then Magnus reached out and put his hand over his. He was a little surprised that there was no sudden spark, burning sensation, just the comforting warmth he had grown to enjoy.

When he didn’t pull away from him, Magnus cautiously laced his long fingers through his, giving them a light squeeze.

“Alexander, do you know anything about your family history?” He said, quietly. Alec baulked slightly at the completely unexpected question. It threw him for a few minutes before he could think clearly enough to answer.

“Not that much, really. Both sets of our Grandparents died either before we were born or when me and Izzy were little. I’ve only ever seen pictures of them. Why?”

“You don’t have any knowledge of relatives that are further back, say, another three or four generations?” 

“No, not a clue. What’s all this about, Magnus?” He felt his fingers tighten a little once more where they threaded with Magnus’.

“Many, many years ago, when I was still a child, one of the warlocks I lived with told me about a legend. He told me that thousands of years ago, warlocks had once coexisted with beings that were half angel called Nephilim. They were the companions of the warlocks, their protectors. Not all warlocks could experience this, however, because there had to be a special bond between them for it to work. When it did, though, they became like two halves of one person. They could sense when things weren’t right with the other person, how they were feeling, even what they were thinking in some cases when the bond was very strong.” Magnus took a deep breath.

“Alexander, I think we may have that bond. I know we both feel it but I just thought it was a love at first sight type of deal. But, I think it’s more than that. I can feel it deep within my soul. I just thought it was a story, something this man made up to keep me amused, but from the second I met you, I knew there was something special about you.” Magnus had reached up and put a hand gently to Alec’s cheek without thinking but he gave no sign of pulling away from it.

“Just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder, you come up with that. If my brain hasn’t exploded before it has now. This whole thing is crazy. I want to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.” Alec gave a small nervous laugh. He had been wrong before, there was something Magnus could tell him that affected him. 

“I think that’s why you were able to see my eyes when you did. A normal person wouldn’t of been able to. Tell me something, when me made love for that first time, did you happen to see anything that night?” Magnus was looking at him seriously but there was color starting to creep back to his face.

“If you mean your eyes, no. How could I? you were behind me.”

“Not just that, anything else, strange or unusual?’

Alec was at overload point by this stage but he willed his brain to think straight and he suddenly remembered something.

“I don’t know if it means anything, and it’s kind of embarrassing, but when I came, I thought I saw sparks before my eyes. Stupid, I know, probably just my imagination.” 

Suddenly, Magnus seem to light up, his face erupting into a huge smile. Before he could say anything, he had wrapped his arms around Alec, holding him tightly to him. Alec was surprise by his actions but found himself reciprocating the hug. His face was buried into the shoulder of his robe and he found himself taking in a deep breath of that wonderful scent of his. He could feel it calming him, his mind not as cluttered and overactive as it had been a few minutes before.  
Magnus pulled away suddenly, with a worried look.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t of done that. You need time to think about all this but I have to say that you weren’t seeing things that night. Sometimes when I get an intense feeling whether its, anger, fear or pleasure, my magic can take on a life of its own. It just sort of happens and there’s nothing I can do about it. If you were just an ordinary man, Alexander, you wouldn’t of been able to see that. But you did.” 

That ember of hope was blazing now and Magnus was powerless to stop it. He had been right to think what he and Alec had was special, he just hadn’t known till now how truly unique it really was. But now it all hinged on how Alec reacted to everything. There was every chance that he would get his heart broken once again.


	19. Chapter 19

“No, I don’t want you to leave. As confusing and mad as this all is and I’d be lying if I said I was okay with it all, I know one thing that is as clear as crystal to me. I still feel the same way about you Magnus. I don’t know how it’s possible after everything you told me and what I saw because I really should be running out of here like my ass was on fire.   
I can feel that bond, like you can, deep inside of me, stronger than I’ve ever felt anything. I love you, Magnus. It’s absolutely bat shit crazy but I do.” 

Magnus fell back down to the bed. He was totally astounded. His wide eyes looked back at Alec and he felt tears streaming down his cheeks. Somehow, he had been given the best gift in his entire life. This beautiful man before him, with his tired eyes and worn looking face. His first thought was that he didn’t deserve him but he stopped the thought in its tracks. Yes, he did deserve him and he intended to hang on tightly to him and never let him go. He put a hand up to his cheek, feeling the course bristles of Alec’s stubble against his hand. He had never felt anything so wonderful. The sun was growing stronger and was slowly filling the room with a golden light. It was a new day and a new world for them both. Magnus felt his heart might burst from the happiness that filled it.

“I love you too, Alexander. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to say those words. It’s like I’ve been on a long, weary journey and I’ve finally reached my destination. You, my love, you’re my destination.” 

He leaned in and put his lips to his. Alec felt his headache ebbing away the longer he felt Magnus’ kiss. It was the deepest kiss he’d ever experienced. He could feel himself warming from the inside out and he was sure that if it had been darker, he would have shone like a beacon. 

Magnus moved to lay his body onto his. It was so good to feel that solid warmth against him again. He felt safe and secure. The longer they were together, the more all the confusing thoughts from the past few hours seem to fade into the background. 

Magnus worked his way down his jaw to his neck, covering the sensitive skin with hungry kisses and small nips which sent sharp bolts of pleasure coursing through him. Alec’s mind kept trying to tell him that he was mad to still be here after everything he had learnt but it was being overridden by that deep seeded attachment he felt for Magnus. He was both too mentally tired and too much in love with him to fight any longer and he allowed it to carry him away. Magnus raised his head and gave him a slow smile.

“Thank you, my love. Thank you for surrendering yourself to this. I’ve never been so happy in my entire life and it’s all because of you. I love you, beautiful boy, with everything I have.” He said softly. 

Alec reached for him and putting a hand to the back of his neck, pulled him down so their lips joined once again. He didn’t think there would ever be a time when he could say that he had enough of the taste of Magnus’ mouth on his. His kisses felt like they were feeding his soul and filling him with that heavenly liquid heat. 

Despite their lack of sleep and tired minds, they found the energy to tear the clothes from each other’s bodies and tangle themselves together. A desperate need for each other had Magnus reaching into the top drawer of the bedside chest for a packet of condoms and a bottle of lube, which was hastily applied before he plunged into Alec. This time, there was no taking it easy with each other and Alec cried out as Magnus entered him, the sudden and sharp intrusion taking his body a few precious seconds to adjust. When it did, though, he found himself franticly pushing back into Magnus, urging him to move. 

A thin film of sweat covered their skin and the sound of Magnus’ heavy ragged breaths next to his ear only strove to heighten his peaking desire. He felt Magnus’ hand wrap around his rock hard length and he moaned loudly as he felt the rhythmic squeeze and pull driving him to climax. He turned his head so he could see his face and Magnus slammed his mouth down on his, hard enough that Alec was sure he could taste blood. His arm twisted back so his hand could reach the back of his head to hold it in place. Their urgent groans were swallowed up in a tangle of lips and tongues. Just before Alec knew he was only seconds from release, he opened his eyes, a sudden acute urge to see his lover’s face. His rapid breaths hitched in his throat as he saw those two, golden cat like orbs looking back at him from under heavy lids and that’s all it took to fly over that edge. He yelled out Magnus’ name as he came explosively into his hand, moaning through each powerful wave of unsurpassed pleasure.

“God, I love you!” Magnus said, against his lips as he too reached his peak.

They clung to each other, coming down from their all-time high with soft kisses and gentle thrusts. They were both totally spent by the time their breathing and heart beats had returned to normal and neither had the energy to move but they managed, with the help of Magnus’ magic, to clean up and straighten the bedclothes that had been scrunched up at the foot of the bed as a result of their vigorous activities. 

Alec curled into Magnus’ side, his head on his smooth tanned chest, relishing the feeling of the gentle rise and fall of his steady breathing. His hand was on the side of his neck and his fingers lazily caressed its surface. Magnus had a protective arm around Alec’s shoulder, his face resting on the top of his head, gently nosing in the silken strands of his hair. Both had their eyes closed and a soft satisfied smile on their faces.

“Get some sleep, my angel, I love you.’ Magnus murmured, smoothing back the hair from Alec’s forehead and planting a soft kiss on it.

“Love you too, Babe.” Alec drawled, his voice heavy with his need to sleep. Magnus felt tears fill his eyes again. No one had ever said that to him before and his last conscious thought was that he never wanted the feeling of Alec Lightwood out of his arms again.


	20. Chapter 20

It was after noon by the time they both woke. Alec was still laying on Magnus’ chest, he’d been too exhausted to move even in his sleep. His first conscious thought was how much he loved the feeling of his man against him. He smiled when he felt gentle fingers playing with his hair. He tightened his grip on Magnus and started peppering feather soft kisses on the firm surface of his chest. He heard a slow moan vibrate under his lips and he raised his head, to see Magnus smiling back at him, his features soft from sleep.

“Good morning, my love, did you sleep well?” He asked, brushing hair from Alec’s brow.

“Best sleep I’ve had in ages. I think it might have had something to do with the company I had. I’m pretty sure it’s long past morning though.” 

He leaned up, taking his weight on his arm. He brought a hand up to his face and traced a fingertip around Magnus’ face before trailing it over his nose and around his lips, loving the feeling of the goatee under it. Magnus rewarded him with a flash of his golden cat like eyes.

“God, you’re so beautiful when you do that. You have no idea how much they turn me on.” Alec crooned and bent his head to kiss him. He could feel Magnus’ smile under his lips which made him feel more teeth than soft skin. He gave a laugh.

"Will you stop that. I only want to feel those teeth when they're nibbling at my neck, or, ah, other places."

“I can’t help it. I’ve never ever had anyone say that they like my eyes before. I’ve spent all my life trying to hide them. Usually people run away screaming when they see them.” 

Alec bent his head and kissed him once more. He hated the thought of anyone ever hurting Magnus like that. He’d never been in a fight in his entire life but he had no doubt that he would be prepared to kill the first person who tried to hurt him for any reason. He felt him wriggle right up against him and a hand went to his chest, combing through the fine covering of dark hair. Magnus batted his eyes at him, grinning all the while.

“Oh, my big strong knight in shining armour. Feeling all protective of little ol’ me? I love it!”

Magnus put on a very exaggerated southern accent and Alec couldn’t help laughing at him. He felt a hand go around to the back of his neck and pull him down to meet a pair of soft lips. He didn’t bother asking about how Magnus knew what he had been thinking, he knew it was part of the magical bond that they shared and he had no intentions of questioning it ever again. 

As their kisses began to take on a life of their own, Alec moved to lay on Magnus’ firm muscled body. He could feel his hard arousal nudging his own and he thrust into it, making him groan in pleasure. His mouth left his lips and he dove directly into Magnus’ neck, loving that exotic smell on his skin. He mouthed his way down to that special spot that he knew drove him wild. He could feel the anticipation building in Magnus and he paused for a few seconds before lavishing attention to it with the tip of his tongue. A sound very much like a purr came from his lover and he smiled to himself before latching onto the skin and sucking it into his mouth. Magnus drew in a sharp breath and his hand went to the back of Alec’s head to tangle his fingers in his hair, gently pulling it. His body arched into him, his other hand slid down his back and his fingers dug into the top of one side of his butt cheek. It was Alec’s turn to made a deep sound of pleasure and he bucked into him again. 

“I want you so much.” He whispered, taking Magnus’ ear lobe between his lips. His answer was to make that deep purring noise and he tried to push Alec to his side but he resisted.

“No, this time I want to be inside you.” He breathed and he saw those demon eyes flash. Magnus reached for the row of foil packets and small bottle next to the bed. 

Alec watched as he ripped open the packet with his teeth before taking the condom out and then reaching down to fit it over his hard erection. Alec grabbed the bottle of lube and squeezed some into his hand. He laid back down beside Magnus and pulled him close against his body, his mouth hungry for his. Magnus turned on his side and draped a leg over his hip, locking it around his thigh. Alec reached behind him, applying the lube. He heard a hum of pleasure come from deep within him and he felt Magnus grinding his throbbing cock against him. He could feel how turned on he was and it was making him harder still. He went to turn so his back was against Alec’s chest but Alec stopped him.

“No, I want to see your face.” He said, and moved him back down so he leaned above him. 

He took his weight onto his fore arms and Magnus opened his legs wider, lifting them up to go around his waist. Alec positioned himself at his entrance and slowly pushed forward. Magnus squeezed his legs tighter to him and groaned before he put a hand to the back of his head and roughly brought Alec’s mouth down to his, his tongue flicking against his. 

Alec had intended to take it easy but the powerful feeling of lust and desire was rolling off both of them so strongly that he couldn’t help himself and he thrust in the rest of the way, hard. Magnus gave a small cry but through their bond Alec could tell it wasn’t from pain. He pulled back and slammed into him again, breaking their kiss so he could watch his face, hoping to get a glimpse of those beautiful golden orbs. It only took two more deep thrusts before he was rewarded with their appearance. He couldn’t take his eyes off them as they stared back at him from under heavy lids. He crashed his mouth down onto Magnus’, knowing that they were both excruciatingly close to orgasm. Alec lifted his head once more to see those narrow slit like pupils splitting the two golden irises that looked like they were about to burst into flames at any minute.

“So fucking beautiful.” He groaned and he pulled back and rammed into Magnus full force, making him explode almost violently inside him.

He heard his name and felt pulse after pulse of warmth pooling between them as Magnus clung to him like he was afraid he was going to fly off somewhere. Where Magnus’ hands touched his back, he could feel tiny bursts of energy, like a strong pins and needles sensation covering his skin. It felt amazing. Alec flopped down, his whole weight along Magnus’ body. He covered the top of his shoulder and chest with lazy kisses, till he could think clearly once more. Alec was sure all his bones had evaporated and been replaced with a liquid heat, stopping him from moving. 

“I really should get off you but I’m so wrecked right now. Sorry, Babe.” Alec drawled. 

It wasn’t the same feeling he got from being tired from over exertion, it was more like just being so relaxed and completely spent, he felt helpless. He felt Magnus turn his head and kiss the tip of his nose and chuckle.

“So, I take it that your back feels better? I don’t want you to go anywhere, my love. You can stay like this forever if you wish.” He snuggled his head against Alec’s brow.

“Yeah, you might be sorry you said that cause the way I feel, I just might take you up on that offer.”

“Stay with me tonight. Don’t go back. I’m not ready to let you go just yet. Not after everything we’ve been through.” 

“Okay.”

Magnus moved his head and then reached up to take Alec’s face in his hands and turn it so he could see him. His love looked so cute at that moment with his big sleepy eyes and scruffy light beard. Magnus frowned and raised an eyebrow.

“Did I hear you correctly, Alexander?” he said, smirking. Alec gave a lazy eye roll which had Magnus leaning up for a noisy kiss.

“What did I do to deserve that?” Alec asked, managing at last to lean up on his arms.

“Oh my beautiful angel, you have no idea how adorable you look right now and it seems I’ve corrupted you already. When I asked you to stay before you flat out refused to, now it’s just “okay” and no arguments? Alec Lightwood, rebel and rule breaker. I love it but I love you more.” 

“What can I say? I’ve crossed over to the dark side.” 

“Please don’t tell me you’re a Star Wars fan or I may have to do a memory wipe on you.” Magnus said, giving him a playful poke in the ribs. Alec gave him a look of surprise.

“You can actually do that? And don’t dis the way of the force, those movies were cinematic excellence.” He grinned down at him, then started tickling his ribs, finding a sensitive spot just below the last ones. Magnus was helpless with laughter in seconds. It was a light, giggly sound that seemed to bubble up from a long-forgotten place. Alec thought he had never heard anything so sweet in his life.

He stopped and brushed his lips to his, pouring as much love into it as possible. It had stopped Magnus’ giggles but when he pulled his mouth away, there was a smile that took over his whole face.

“God, don’t tell me I’ve fallen in love with a nerd? What’s next World of Warcraft, Assassin’s Creed?”

Alec pretended to look hurt.

“Well, I’m deeply offended. Here I am willing to love someone who can shoot blue flames from his hands and scrub clean someone’s head but I can’t like classic movies and video games? And by the way, how the hell does a four-hundred-year-old warlock know about that stuff?”

“Four-hundred-and-twenty-eight-year-old warlock, actually and I really don’t care what you’re into, my angel. I’ll love you no matter what.” Magnus reached up to touch his forehead to his, rubbing the tip of his nose against Alec’s. 

“There’s only one thing that I’m into anymore, and he’s lying right here with me. I love you too.” Alec gave a small laugh and shook his head.

“I don’t know about the dark side, but you’ve definitely turned me into a big love sick idiot. I hear myself saying these things and I’m making myself embarrassed.” 

“Well I think you’re the hottest, sexiest love sick idiot around and I’m beyond words happy to say you’re mine.”

Magnus wrapped his arms around him and kissed him for all he was worth. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever been this happy and contented.  
They were still locked together, lips and tongues performing a kind of dance, when a soft knock came from the door.

“Yes?” Magnus mumbled under Alec’s mouth.

The door opened and Raphael appeared with a tray of sandwiches and other delectable looking items. He balked slightly at the sight of the two men, completely absorbed in each other but he put the tray on the small table that stood opposite the fire place and then collecting the cups from earlier loaded them onto the other tray and left, shutting the door behind him a little harder than necessary. Alec broke free of magnus’ kisses, looking towards the door.

“I don’t think Raphael approved of us getting some afternoon delight.” He said, finally breaking free of Magnus’ grip and sitting up in the bed.

Magnus gave him an exaggerated pout as he left his arms. 

He curled into his side and played with Alec’s soft chest hair while occasionally planting kisses to the top of his bicep. Alec raised an eye brow.

“Geez, Babe, I thought I was the love-sick idiot. Can’t you keep your hands to yourself for a while so we can eat? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

He bent down and kissed Magnus’ forehead before freeing his arm from his clingy boyfriend with a snort of laughter when he heard a noise of disappointment come from him. He got out of bed and tested his ankle. It was still a little sore and there was going to be some bruising but it had improved. He picked up the robe from the floor and slid his arms into it before going over to the table with the tray of food. 

As usual, everything tasted great and he sat down in one of the chairs beside the table. Suddenly the fire place flamed into life, almost making Alec choke on a half-eaten sandwich. He turned to see Magnus standing just behind him, his deep blue robe tied loosely around this waist allowing a generous amount of bare skin to show. His left hand was held out and an electric blue flame danced on his palm. 

“Next time you’re going to do that, can you warn me first? It’s gonna take me some time to get used to.” Alec said as Magnus came around to where he was and straddled his thighs, wrapping his arms around his neck. Alec held out a sandwich to him and he took a bite.

“I’m sorry, my love, I just didn’t want you getting cold because we all know the effects it can have on certain parts of the body.” 

He wiggled his eyebrows at him and gave him a very dirty grin. He reached down between them and cupped his hand to his crotch. Alec took in a deep breath feeling himself grow instantly hard. He had no idea something like that was even possible but it was definitely happening to him now. Magnus leaned into his lips with his own, teasing him by hovering a hair’s breadth in from of him. Alec couldn’t help the groan that escaped him.

“Not that you would ever have that problem, you’re a very, shall we say, gifted young man. The best part of it is, it’s all mine.”

He squeezed him gently and Alec thought he might burst into flames, his face showing what he felt inside. He could feel an embarrassed blush adding to his already flushed face and he ducked his head, hiding it on Magnus’ chest. Magnus chuckled, playfully running his hands through the back of his hair.

“Aww, I’ve embarrassed my sweet boy again. I’d like to say I’m sorry but I’m not really. Watching you blush like that is better than seeing one of my roses coming into bloom. Just know I’m prepared to say and do anything that I think might make you do it. You have no idea how it turns me on.”

He nuzzled into Alec’s neck and trailed kisses up to his jaw. Alec leaned into it and he could feel himself getting carried away but he really wanted to take a shower and then ring Jace and Pops about not coming in till Tuesday. With a lot of effort, he dragged himself away from Magnus’ warm lips.

“I really need to shower and make a couple of phone calls, Babe. You’re gonna have to at least try to control yourself for a little while.” 

Magnus sighed and reluctantly got off his lap. He reached out a hand and Alec took it, standing up before him. He took hold of the front of his robe and pulled him in for a quick kiss before heading for the bathroom.

“I could offer my services as a back washer again?” Magnus said, cheekily.

He purposefully cocked a hip against the side of the chair so the gap in the robe went all the way to the floor. Alec couldn’t help his eyes from straying to what was on display in front of him. Shit, was the man ever not hard and ready to go? He took in a deep breath and had to brace himself against the door frame so he wasn’t tempted to rush across to him and take him again.

“No, you’re going to have to behave yourself for a little while. Not that it’s not tempting but if I let you do that I’m never going to get those phone calls done. Jace will send out the national guard on me if I don’t show up tonight and not let him know why.”

“Oh well, your loss, my angel. I suppose I shouldn’t wear you out completely. But I can’t get enough of that gorgeous body of yours. And you have the cutest butt, ever.” Alec turned back to the bathroom quickly to hide the blush he knew was coloring his face. The man had no filter what so ever. He just wished he could stop himself from blushing so easily.

“There’s no point in hiding that handsome face from me, Alexander, I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work. Our bond, remember?” Alec growled in frustration and he heard Magnus’ almost girly giggle coming from behind him as he shut the door. There were definitely no secrets between them now


	21. Chapter 21

After a shower and getting into some clean clothes, Alec turned his phone on and pressed on Jace’s number. He answered after only one ring.

“Hey, man, what’s up? Are you back from the love shack already?” Alec rolled his eyes. Typical Jace.

“No I’m still here, actually. That’s what I was calling you for to let you know I won’t be coming back till tomorrow night.” The line went silent. Alec took the phone from his ear to stare at the screen.

“Hello? Jace?”

“Yeah I’m still here. I just had to pick myself up off the floor. You are seriously going to miss a day at work to hang out with your boyfriend? Wow, what the hell has the guy done to you? Wait, don’t answer that, maybe I’d be better off not knowing.”

“You’re a real riot, aren’t you? I can’t explain everything now but when I get back we’ll talk, ok?”

Alec looked up as Magnus came in and draped himself over his back and shoulders, kissing his neck. Shivers were running up and down his spine and he knew he was smiling like a lunatic. He accidently let out a snort of laughter as he felt Magnus’ goatee tickle his skin.

“Alright, what’s so funny? What am I missing here?” Alec scrunched up his shoulder and tried to get Magnus to stop but it seemed hell bent of trying to distract him.

“Do you really want to know?” 

“Yeah, I like a joke as much as the next person, come on spill.”

“Remember what you asked me the other day at work?”

Alec thought he could practically hear the cogs turning in Jace’s mind. He lifted a hand to hold the back of Magnus’ head, feeling his damp hair from his own shower. He turned his head and kissed him, his tongue just touching his lips. Magnus started making that purring noise again and its effect was going straight to his groin. He got pulled back onto the bed where he had been sitting. Magnus came around to straddle his waist.

“Oh you mean about the whole kissing guys thing? What does that have to do with it?”

Alec couldn’t help smiling up at the sight of Magnus who was pulling up his t shirt he had just gotten on and bending over to kiss the sensitive skin of his stomach. 

“Remember what I said was the best part of that?” 

Alec had to bite his lip hard to stop himself from making any incriminating noises when he felt Magnus’ tongue plunge into his belly button. His dick twitched underneath Magnus, and he made a silent Oh! With his mouth before sliding back to start undoing the zipper and button on his jeans. Alec swallowed hard. Dear God, he wouldn’t dare? Not when he was on the phone to Jace, of all people. He almost dropped it when Magnus grabbed his jeans and underwear and reefed them down to his mid thighs.

“You mean that crack about Magnus and his goatee? I really didn’t want to be reminded about that but dare I say, what about it?” Alec couldn’t believe Jace was being this slow to pick up on what he was talking about.

“That’s what made me laugh, only it was my neck not my lip.” Alec smirked, waiting for the reaction he knew was coming. 

Magnus gave him a frown and then a knowing look before taking him into his mouth. This time, Alec did drop the phone.

“Fuck, Magnus, not now!” he said through clenched teeth.

“Holy shit! Please don’t tell me you’re….. while on the phone? Far out, Alec, you are too twisted. Can you do me a favour? When you come back, tell straight Alec I miss him, cause gay Alec is totally off the charts. Please, hang up I can’t stand it anymore.” Jace put on a mock disgusted voice. 

“I’ll see you Tuesday, buddy. I’m kinda tied up at the moment.”

“Not yet he isn’t but it can be arranged.” Magnus said loudly taking his mouth off him. Alec felt a laugh burst from him, especially when I heard Jace making various noises of revulsion. That was two he had up on him now and he pushed the end call button. 

He thought it was best to let Magnus finish what he started before ringing his boss. He doubted that Pops would think it was funny that he was getting a blowjob while he was on the phone. 

When he had recovered well enough and Magnus was lying peacefully next to him, a smug look on his face, he rang him. He told his boss that he wasn’t coming back till Tuesday because of a twisted ankle. He took it fairly well, Alec thought but it wasn’t too surprising considering he’d never had a day off before. 

“Just make sure you’re back to start that Audi. That guy was adamant that you would be the one to work on it. You probably haven’t got a bum ankle at all, I bet you ditched Wayland and found yourself a new man, eh, Lightwood? You wanna be careful, he looks like the revenge type, I reckon.” Pops said to him, with that gravelly voice of his. He couldn’t help himself, Alec thought, he had to have a dig at him.

“Yeah, yeah, Pops, I’ll be there. The guy won’t get away. See you then.” 

“Your employer is a laugh a minute, isn’t he? Don’t tell me you came out to him as well?” Magnus said.

“No, he’d be that last person. Once he latches onto something, you never hear the end of it. Jace hugged me in the workshop and he saw it. It’ll never end.” 

Magnus rolled onto his stomach and looked at him.

“Should I be jealous? I thought you said you and Jace were just friends, not friends with benefits.”

Alec could feel through their connection that Magnus was only joking, but there was the faintest hint of real jealousy as well.

“No, Magnus, you don’t have to be jealous. I’m in love with you, bone head, no one else.” He bent down and kissed him soundly to emphasize the point. By the time he lifted his head, they were both out of breath.

“God, I wish you could stay here forever. Tuesday is too soon.” Magnus grumbled and curled into him.

“Yeah, I agree but I promised this guy I’d work on his car. There’s something about him that makes me not want to piss him off too. He looks like someone you don’t want to disappoint.’

“Sounds very ominous. Who is he?”

“I dunno. He came into the work shop and asked for me specifically. Says he was referred by someone but I have no idea who. His name is morgen something or rather.”

Alec felt Magnus still. He could feel fear running through him. He sat up. Suddenly, and looked at him.

“His name wasn’t Morgenstern, was it?”

“Yeah, I think so, why?” 

Magnus sat on the edge of the bed, his whole body had gone rigid with tension. Alec could feel it pouring off him.

“Magnus, what’s wrong? Who is he?” Alec moved to sit beside him and grabbed his hand. He felt him squeeze it tight.

“Valentine Morgenstern represents my past. He’s a warlock as well and a few centuries ago, we were best friends. I was young, naive, and I felt very much alone with everything and he seemed to come in and offer me the companionship I craved. We spent hours together and I loved it but the problems started when my powers grew stronger than his. Warlocks can come in varying degrees, Alec, some are more magical than others. It turned out that I’m very high on that scale, which means if I was so inclined, I could perform what you might call black magic. The bad stuff that is shunned by nearly all of us. I’ve never ever wanted to head down that path and I never will but Val was fascinated with it.” Magnus looked up at Alec, his eyes full of sadness and worry.

“It soon became clear to me that he was only with me because he wanted to use me to teach him the bad side or magic. He was obsessed. He even got his hands on a spell book which revealed certain ways to practise the dark side of our craft. After he’d been studying it for a while, he wanted to try some of his new found skills out. He tried everything to get me to do it with him but I refused. He was using mundanes, Alec. That’s what our kind call ordinary people. It was horrifying. I managed to get my hands on the spell book and hide it from him and when he found out what I had done, we ended up in a huge battle.

He had grown stronger but not strong enough, thank goodness, and I managed to capture him, binding him in magic. Before I banished him, though, he told me that I would never be rid of him that he would find a way back to me and to the book by any means possible. It seems he was correct.”

Magnus let go of Alec’s hand and rose from the bed to stand before him.

“I can’t let you go back, Alexander. I won’t let him try to get to you. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.” 

Alec rose to face him and took him in his arms. Magnus clung to him like he would never let him go. A few long minutes later, Alec pulled back, and took his face in his hands.

“Magnus, I have to go back. I can’t just not go back to work. I can’t do that to Pops. You don’t know that he’s come after me. He might just be checking things out, seeing what I know.” Alec told him but he could tell from Magnus’ face that he wasn’t buying it.

“The man is extremely dangerous, my love. I believed him when he said he would come at me any way he could. I don’t know how he found me after all this time but he has and I won’t risk him doing something to you.” 

“I’ll be careful I promise, okay? Besides, if I don’t go back to work on his car, it’ll look suspicious and he’ll know we are on to him. This way I might be able to get some information out of him, see what he knows. I’m supposed to be your protector, remember?’

Alec bent his head and kissed him, trying to ease some of the tension he could feel coming from him. He hated seeing Magnus upset like this. It wasn’t fair, they should be basking in the sunshine that was their new-found love, not trying to dodge rain clouds.

“No, I can’t let you do that, Alexander. It’s too dangerous. I really want you to stay here with me so I can protect you and see him coming. I can put up protection wards around the house, he won’t be able to get in. You’ll be too exposed at your place.” Magnus said adamantly.

Alec sighed and rolled his eyes. The man was so stubborn. He had to think of something to offer as a compromise. 

“I’m going back to work, Magnus, and that’s all there is to it. I won’t let the man run me out of my life. If you’re so worried, why don’t you come to my place and stay? You could protect the whole building if you want to. What do you think? Or is my place to plain?”

he gave him a lop-sided grin, trying to make him lighten his mood. Magnus gave him a sharp look.

“I wouldn’t care if you lived in a tent, my angel, as long as you’re there with me. Yes, I can do that but it will only protect you if you’re in the apartment. I need to put a protection charm on you as well. If you are going to insist on being to work to face that monster, then you have to let me perform it on you.” Magnus said, emphasizing his point by poking Alec in the chest with the tip of his finger. 

Alec laughed and took his hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing the back of it. 

“Okay, I get the point, literally. Now, where did you hide that book he wants? Can I help you look for it?” 

 

“Before we find the book, I have to find the bookmark that came from it. It will help me track it and I can get it back. That’s what I was looking for when you saw me. I’d had a strange dream about it and when I woke, I knew I had to find it. Now I know why.” 

“So, let’s go look for it. Two sets of eyes are better than one. How long since you’ve seen it?’

“Oh, about a hundred and ninety, two hundred years ago, give or take a decade. Not long.” Alec looked at him in surprise.

“Seriously?” He gaped at him. Magnus gave a laugh and pulled him in for a kiss.

“Come on, are we going to look for it, or what?”


	22. Chapter 22

They went to Magnus’ work room and searched all the books on his shelves with no luck. While Magnus went through some piles of loose papers Alec moved some of the jars on the shelves opposite the books. There were some very unusual ingredients in the jars and Alec wasn’t game enough to open them. The labels were very ancient and most of them were written in languages that he didn’t understand. He picked up one jar with a deep red powder in it. It looked like paprika but Alec was willing to bet it wasn’t anything like the spice.

“So, what do you use this stuff for?” He asked Magnus, holding out the jar. Magnus looked up from the papers he was sorting and a grin spread across his lips.

“Alexander, it’s for something you’ll never need help with.” Alec frowned.

“What’s that?”

“let’s just say it puts lead in your pencil.” Magnus watched him till his face registered what he meant and a minute later he was rewarded.

“Oh” was all he said but he was going a very deep pink. Magnus couldn’t help himself. He laughed and walked over to him, taking his face in his hands and kissing him long and hard.

“will you ever stop making me do that?” Alec sighed, when they finally broke apart.

“Never, my love. The colour pink looks too good on that handsome face of yours.” He leaned his head onto Alec’s brow before he saw his skin heat again from his words.

“Not again” Alec wined, and Magnus took his mouth once more. 

They were still lost in each other when Raphael came to the room. He stood politely by the door for a minute before clearing his throat. Magnus pulled back from Alec making him lean forwards, chasing his lips. He looked back at Magnus, heavy eyed and wanting. Magnus held a slender finger up against his lips, made fuller from their kisses, and softly said, “Shhh.” Alec took his finger into his mouth and swirled his tongue around it. Magnus almost collapsed and he grabbed his arm for support. Raphael was still standing there, eyes cast down to the floor. 

Magnus closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try to collect himself before acknowledging Raphael’s presence. He looked back up at Alec which was a huge mistake. He saw such hunger in his eyes, he could feel it deep into his soul. 

“I want you so much, Babe, I can’t stand it.” He was rubbing his forehead against his, the tip of his nose gently touching his. Magnus had to fight with everything he had to stop himself from groaning with pleasure, as it was he knew his cat like eyes were on show. Alec looked ready to explode.

“Yes, Raph, what is it?” Magnus asked, trying to keep his voice steady. He had to smile when he heard Alec say softly.

“Oh shit.” 

“Dinner is ready, Magnus.” He simply said, and with a nod he turned and left.

He couldn’t help giggling at his poor boyfriend. If he had gone read pink before now he was bright red. 

“Why didn’t you tell me Raph was there?” Alec said, one hand covering his eyes. Magnus dragged his hand away.

“I did try but you had a full head of steam, it seems. I think you were past the point of hearing anything.” He kissed him again but Alec was the one to pull away this time.

“No, if you keep doing that, we’ll never get to eat. Let’s go. Maybe we can check the books down I the living room after we eat.”

“Sounds like a plan, pumpkin, let’s do it.” Magnus grabbed his hand and they headed for the stairs.

“And Magnus?” Alec said as they reached them.

“Yes?”

“I love you, but don’t call me pumpkin again. That’s just not happening.” Magnus just grinned back at him.

“Alright, sweetie, whatever you say.” 

He was still laughing at Alec’s groan of frustration when they reached the dining room.


	23. Chapter 23

After dinner, they hit the shelves in the living room. Even with Magnus using his magic it was taking forever. It was almost midnight and they were down to the last row of books. Alec gave a yawn as he pulled yet another book from the shelf and leaf through its pages. He put it back and grabbed the next one and as he was pulling it from the shelf, the cover came loose and it fell to the floor. Alec was horrified.

“Oh shit, Magnus I just took the cover off one of your books, I’m so sorry.” 

He picked it up and then frowned. Something wasn’t right. The old worn leather cover didn’t look like it had ever been attached to the book in the first place. He turned it over to see the cover and was surprised to see it was a cook book. It didn’t even look that old, either. Magnus came over to see what he was looking at and then made a loud noise of delight before kissing Alec loudly on the cheek. Alec shot him a look. What was so good about this ratty old cook book?

Magnus took the book from him and opened it to the centre and there laying between the pages was an embroidered bookmark, a golden silk tassel that was squashed flat from being jammed between the pages for so long.

“That’s it? This is what we’ve being searching for all night? Why was it in a cookbook of all places?” Alec asked him.

Magnus was holding the bookmark reverently, like it was the most precious artifact in the world.

“This just happened to be the last place I hid it. It’s had quite a few hiding places. Poetry books, a novel or two, I even seem to recall that I hid it in a book on the Karma sutra once. Oh, if these threads could talk, eh?” He grinned, running a finger over the tiny stitches. 

“What book on the karma sutra?” Alec said, his interest piqued, combing the shelves with his eyes.

“Oh, I think it was the original one but let’s not worry about that now. We have what we need now to find that damn book but it’s way too late to do anything tonight, let’s go to bed, my angel.” He took Alec’s hand and they left the room, turning off the lights and closing the door behind them.

They woke the next morning, tangled around one another yet again but neither of them wanted to waist any more time in tracking the book. Alec wanted to start straight away but Magnus insisted on them showering, dressing and eating breakfast first.   
When they had finished eating, they went up to the work room and Alec took a chair to watch while Magnus focused his powers on the bookmark which he retrieved from his safe where he had placed it the night before.

He held it flat on his palm and with his other hand produced the blue flame. He held his palm over the top of the book mark, closing his eyes in concentration. A foggy looking haze hung over the material and a few minutes later Magnus removed his hand and then opened his eyes.

“So? Where is it?” Alec asked when his didn’t say anything straight away. Magnus looked over to him, his face looked worried. Alec could feel that something had him on edge. 

“Alexander, I don’t know how you’re going to feel about this but the current owner of the book is Lydia. Lydia Branwell, your ex-girlfriend.” 

Alec paled. Of all the places on the planet that book could be it was with the one person who couldn’t stand the sight of him. He hadn’t spoken to Lydia since the morning she had found out about he and Magnus. Alec did have plans to try to explain to her about everything and now it was going to be harder because she was going to think the only reason he was doing it was to get the book they needed.

“I’m sure the poor woman has had a chance to calm down by now. Perhaps she’ll be willing to just hand it over to us.” Magnus suggested, but by the look on his face, Alec could tell he was trying to convince himself of his own words as much as he was with him. Alec gave a sigh.

“I don’t know Babe. She was pretty pissed at me. That old saying, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, I’m pretty sure suits her down to the ground.” Magnus went over to his boyfriend and took him in his arms.

“Alexander, having had a little more to do with that particular place, I can safely say that might be a slight exaggeration.” He tilted his head and brushed his lips to his.

“Whatever happens, I’ll be there for you, my love.” He whispered, and Alec hugged him tighter to him. He could feel Magnus’ love for him covering him like a warm blanket, protecting his soul from any harm. He hoped that he felt the same from him.

“I know you feel the same way, Alexander. We’re beyond words now. Listen, let’s get organised and head to your place so I have plenty of time to put up those protection spells.” 

Alec agreed and they spent a few hours packing their clothes and organizing a few things from Magnus’ work room that he thought he may need. When they were ready, Magnus got Raphael to get the car and they both got into the back seat and holding each other’s hands, they settled in for the trip to the city.  
They arrived at Alec’s apartment by late afternoon and after Magnus gave Raphael instructions on how to make sure the house remained safe, they took their things up the stairs. Alec looked at Magnus’ enormous bag that held his clothes.

“So, did I miss something, Magnus? I didn’t know you had intentions of moving in.” He joked.

“One has to have options, Alexander. You can’t protect your boyfriend or get your hands on rare books in just any old thing.” He said, standing before him with his hands on his hips.

“Apparently not by the look of that bag. Hey, why don’t we go out for dinner tonight, somewhere nice.” Alec suggested, taking him in his arms. Magnus took his face in his hands and kissed him long and hard.

“Sounds wonderful, my love but first, I have to get those protection charms up and running and I hate to say it but you need to call Lydia and make a time to me with her. The sooner I can get my hands on that book the better I’ll like it.” Alec whined and bent his head so it rested on Magnus’ shoulder. 

“Couldn’t you just magic it out of her place or something?” he said, hopefully.

Magnus brought his face back to his so the tips of his nose touched Alec’s.

“I wish it was that simple my darling. Because I haven’t held it for a long time and because of it’s magical properties, I must physically handle it before I do anything else with it. I’m afraid we have to do this the hard way.”

He put a quick kiss on the tip of his nose before pulling away from him, swatting his backside.

“Go, get it over with them we can get ready and go out.” Alec sighed and took his phone out of his pocket and headed for is bedroom to give Magnus enough space to perform the protection charm.  
He sat on the end of his bed and pushed on Lydia’s name in his contact list. He wasn’t very confident that she would even answer his call.

“Hello Alec.” Alec was surprised when he heard her voice in his ear. It sounded quite frosty, however but he supposed he couldn’t blame her for that.

“Hey Lydia. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for the other morning. I really didn’t mean for you to find out about me like that. I never meant to hurt you, really. Do you think we could meet up after work tomorrow and talk, please?” The phone was silent and Alec was worried that she wasn’t going to answer. He heard her let out a deep sigh.

“Alright. I suppose I owe you that much. You can come here, would six be okay with you?” 

“Yes, that’s fine. Thanks for this Lydia. I mean it.” 

“Yes, well, don’t thank me yet. I still don’t know if I can forgive you Alec. See you tomorrow night.” 

She ended the call and Alec fell back on the bed, relieved that the call had gone better than he had expected but it wasn’t over yet.

He was still laying there when he heard a soft knock at the bedroom door. Magnus poked his head around it.

“I don’t feel any bad vibes from you, my love, I presume it went okay with your prize fighter ex?”

“Better than I thought, at least although I do have a case of frost bite.” Alec held out a hand to him and magnus joined him on the bed, laying his head on his chest and his arms around his body.

“Allow me to warm you up then.” 

He said softly and he leaned up over him before bringing his head down to join his lips with his. Alec could feel himself calming almost at once. Magnus’ kisses were like a balm for his soul. His hands roamed over the bunched muscles of his back and he worked at the bottom of his shirt, pulling it free from his pants. He groaned when he felt warm smooth skin under his hands and he deepened their kiss, feeling Magnus respond to him with more pressure.

“God, I don’t think I could ever get enough of this.” Alec breathed as he turned his head so he could cover Magnus’ jaw with hungry kisses. He found his earlobe and sucked between his lips making him moan loudly and grind into his quickly hardening crotch. 

“We should be getting ready to go out for dinner, you know.” Magnus said, working his way down Alec’s neck to his shoulder, pulling on the neck of his t shirt to gain better access to him. Alec felt him sink his teeth into the muscle and draw the skin into his mouth, hard. He took in a quick breath, screwing up his face but loving every minute of it. 

“That’s literally gonna leave a mark, you know.” He said.

“That was the whole idea, my angel. I need to brand you as all mine.” He smiled and he drew away, standing back up beside the bed. Alec immediately felt the loss of his warmth. He did his best to make sad puppy dog eyes at him, hoping it would bring him back so he could feel that wonderful feeling of weight on his body again. 

“Oh no you don’t, Alexander. Get up and hit the shower so we can go out. Listen, why don’t you call Jace and see if he and Clary would like to join us?” Magnus asked. Alec gave him a pained look.

“You really want Mr my filter is completely broken Wayland out in public with us? I think I’d rather chew broken glass.” Alec said, sitting up.

“Oh now Alexander, this is your best friend we’re talking about. I’m sure he’ll be on his best behavior. You can’t keep me hidden away forever. I’m going to be around for a long time and your friends and family need to get used to that.” Alec sighed and picked up his phone again.

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He told his boyfriend as he pushed Jace’s number.

An hour later, He and Magnus were standing out the front of the restaurant waiting for Jace and Clary. Alec could help but notice how hot his boyfriend was. He noticed how the men and women who passed them couldn’t seem to help but look t him. Not that he could blame them. Magnus was almost as tall as he was and with his spiked hair, a close fitted dark blue silk shirt and black pants and black boots, sans buckles this time he certainly was eye catching. Alec had never been comfortable with public displays of affection but he found himself wrapping an arm around his waist, pulling him close so he was against his side. Magnus looked back at him, a grin on his face.

“Now who’s marking his territory, Alexander? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I bet you have never been this way with anyone else before.” 

“I’ve never been in love before. I just want all these wandering eyes to know they can back off.” Magnus gave a shiver and put hi other hand up to Alec’s face.

“Oh, I love it when you get all protective. It turns me on so bad.” Alec could feel his face heating. Oh good lord, not now! Magnus’ grin broadened and took over his whole face. 

“Fuck, Alexander, you have no idea how hard I’m right now, stop blushing or we are going to end up getting arrested.” He kissed him briefly and Alec heard a small squeal come from beside them. 

He looked up to see a very bashful looking Jace and an extremely giggly looking Clary standing in front of them.

“Wow, man. I knew a time that you would rather have chewed your own arm off rather than kiss anyone in public like that. I had no idea coming out really meant gushing out.” 

Alec cleared his throat and frowned at his best friend. 

“Didn’t I warn you?” He said to Magnus, who was looking very amused by the whole thing. 

“I think I’d better introduce Clary before she explodes or something.” Jace said, putting an arm around her small shoulders and pulling her close. The action making the petite girl almost lose her balance.

“Hello, Clary. I’m Magnus. It’s very nice to meet you, my dear.” He offered her a hand and when she took it, it brought it to his lips, putting a light kiss on her knuckles. Girly squeals of delight came from her as she took her hand back.

“Aww, you guys are so cute, I can’t stand it. And Magnus has such nice manners. You could learn something from him, you know Jace.” 

Jace didn’t look to pleased about being upstaged by his own friend’s boyfriend but he managed to bite his tongue.


	24. Chapter 24

They went into the restaurant and got a table. Once again, Alec felt every set of eyes following them as they sat down. Magnus took the chair beside him and grabbed his hand and placed it on the table between them. Alec was tempted to revert back to his old self-consciousness but one look at Magnus and those deep brown eyes and those thoughts vanished from his mind.

“All mine, remember?” he whispered in his ear and he smiled back at him.

“If you two would rather be alone, just say the word.” Jace said. He was looking decidedly uncomfortable with Alec’s new found bravery.

“I’m sorry Jace but your friend here is just too darn handsome to resist. I can’t help myself.” And his kissed Alec on the cheek.

Alec’s face went pink again and he wasn’t game enough to look at Magnus this time. Clary was looking at them like they were a couple of the world’s cutest puppies or something. Alec had never seen her this animated before. 

“You guys are so cute together, it’s adorable.” She gushed. Alec hoped that her face would get tired of grinning at them so much so she had to knock it off. Jace kept shooting her looks and mouthed the words. “calm down” in her direction. Unfortunately for Alec, Clary’s over attention seemed to spur him on.

“Aww, aren’t you the sweetest thing? Thank you Clary.” Magnus said, in the same voice you would talk to a little kid in. He gave Alec’s shoulder a quick touch with his cheek. 

They managed to order dinner and drinks and while magnus and Clary seemed to be in deep conversation about fashion, Alec told jace about his meeting with Lydia the next night.

“Good luck with that man. She was pretty angry about everything. She went to Clary when she left your place that morning and from what she said it’s a good thing she didn’t have access to any sharp objects.”

“Yeah, it was pretty nasty. I wanted to try to talk to her that morning but she was too upset. I’m just glad she’s giving me chance to explain now.”

“I tried to smooth the road a bit for you there. I told her it wasn’t all your fault, that I wouldn’t of encouraged you to ask her out if I had known you were more into guys. I had my suspicions about you but just not enough to say anything.”

“Thanks, Jace. But I wished you had given me a heads up about it. It sort of hit me like a freight train. It’s been a lot to get used to.”

“Yeah I can imagine. I’m just so glad to see you so happy.” Jace reached across the table and Alec took his hand and gave it a quick squeeze, smiling back at him. Jace might be a lot of things but there had never been someone so loyal and supportive of him before.

“What’s going on here, then. Alexander, I leave you alone for two minutes and you’re flirting with the handsome Jace here. Do I have to be concerned?” Magnus hugged his arm to him and pulled him close, kissing him right on the mouth, making sure he could feel the heat rise from Alec’s body.

Jace choked on his drink and Clary looked like she was about to hit the floor. A nearby waiter dropped a plate and it shattered on the floor. Magnus lifted his head and looked innocently around.

“Oh dear, I hope we didn’t cause that to happen. Clary, my dear, are you alright? Perhaps you should have a sip of water” magnus said, handing her a glass.

“You two really need to keep it in your pants till we at least eat or I can see a large bill for smashed plates heading our way.” Jace said, wiping drops of his drink from his shirt where he had spluttered it.

“That’s the hottest kiss I’ve ever seen outside an x-rated movie.” Clary said, her voice low and deep.

Jace looked at her like he’d never seen her before.

“Geez, Clary, since when do you watch x rated anything? I think you two are a bad influence on my girl here.” Jace said, pulling her close.

“I’d be happy to give the two of you some tips. I’m sure Alexander wouldn’t mind helping me with the demonstration.” 

Alec really wanted to hide under the table now, his new-found openness only stretching so far.

“Magnus! Behave.” He said through gritted teeth, just as the waiter arrived with their food.

“God, you’re so hot when your riled up. You make me so hard.” Magnus said, in a low whisper.

Alec felt his face blaze with color and the waiter almost ended up tipping his plate into his lap. He gave them a shocked look and scuttled off. Clary and Jace snorted in laughter. 

“I have no idea what you said but that waiter looked ready to expire. You two are too much.”

“I think we can scratch our names off the regulars list from now on.” Alec said, trying to gather his wits. He knew Magnus had just said what he did to get a rise out of everyone but he could feel through there bond he had meant every word. 

The rest of dinner passed by without any further incident until dessert when they made the monumental mistake of putting a maraschino cherry on top of Alec’s chocolate cheese cake. He had pushed it to the side of his plate before eating the rest and it caught Magnus' eye, and sharp wit.

“Alexander, don’t you want your cherry?” he asked him. 

“No, you can have it. I’ve never liked them.” He scooped it up with his spoon and put it on Magnus’ own plate.

“That’s the second time you’ve given me one of these.” Magnus said in a low voice, and a dirty grin.

Jace gagged on a piece of chocolate cake he had been eating and Clary was patting him on the back with one hand and covering her mouth with the other looking at them with wide eyes.  
Alec didn’t think he could get any redder in the face and knew could feel the way it was affecting his big mouth boyfriend. 

“Sorry, did I say that out loud? I’m sorry my angel. I didn’t mean to embarrass you like that. You have my permission to put me over your knee when we get home.” Alec frowned at him. Please Lord, make him stop! 

Clary erupted in a fit of giggles and it took several minutes before she could stop. 

“I think we had better call it a night before you two get caught getting jiggy with it in the bathroom or somewhere more public even.” Jace said and they rose from the table, Magnus insisting on paying for everyone. 

“It’s the least I can do after misbehaving.” He told them. Alec gave him a look that said, “damned straight it is” before they walked outside.

“Well that was the best night out I’ve had in ages. Thanks for the entertainment guys.” Clary said and wrapped her slender arms first around Magnus and then Alec. 

“You’re too cute.” She added, before letting Alec go. Jace rolled his eyes and pulled her back.

“Okay, okay, enough with the gushing over the nice gay couple. I’ll see you tomorrow Alec. ‘Night, Magnus. Don’t keep him up all night, he’s got to work tomorrow.” Alec could practically hear the smart remarks forming in Magnus’ mind and he held up a finger, putting it against his lips.

“Don’t even think about going anywhere near that.” He told him and they waved good bye to them.

They hailed a cab and headed back to Alec’s apartment. Magnus kept giving Alec sideways looks all the way back. He knew he wasn’t too impressed with his behavior over dinner. Their bond was sparking with it so he didn’t bother saying anything till they had gotten inside and the door closed.

“Alexander I……..” 

was as far as Magnus got before Alec had pushed him hard against a nearby wall, making the print that was hanging on it further up rattle violent. He had his hands bunched in the material of the shirt he was wearing and his face was practically touching his.

“Don’t say another word. You need to be taught a lesson.” He growled and Magnus immediately felt the raw heat pouring off him. God, he was so hot like this.


	25. Chapter 25

Magnus braced himself for a forceful kiss but it never came. Instead, Alec moved his mouth to hover near his, mere millimeters away. He ran the tip of his nose along the side of Magnus’ before bringing up a finger to lightly trace the shape of his lips. Magnus really wanted the feel of them on his own but Alec denied him. He dragged them with the barest of touches across his cheek and up his jaw till he got to his ear, where he used the tip of his tongue to trace its shape. 

Magnus closed his eyes and leaned into him. He could feel his legs wanting to give way and he longed to be able to wrap them around Alec’s hips. He tried to grind his hardened length against him but Alec put his hands on his hips and pushed him back. He smiled when he heard Magnus moan. Good, he was getting frustrated already.

“Seeing all those strangers looking at you tonight made me so jealous and hard. It was everything I had not to throw you on the ground and take you right there to show them just who you belonged to.” He whispered in his ear.

He heard Magnus suck in a quick breath and he tilted his head so he could feel more of his warm breath. Alec grabbed his wrists in one hands and brought them hard up above his head. He nuzzled into his neck, using lips, teeth and tongue to reach the pulse point. He took a large bite of the skin above it and drew it into his mouth, making Magnus cry out and buck against the wall. The print rattled ominously once more. When he released the skin, there was a large deep red bruise standing out against his tanned skin.

“Now there’ll be no question about who your with.” He said, his voice low and almost carnal.

Magnus bent his head towards him, desperate for more. He would never have thought Alec was capable of being so commanding, so forceful. He’d come so far in such a short space of time. 

“Now, if you promise to behave, I’ll let your hands go, but you have to keep them there, alright?” Alec told him. Magnus couldn’t trust his voice not to falter so he just nodded his head, his eyes never leaving Alec’s face. He was dying to see what he would do next.

Alec released his wrists and them started undoing the buttons on his shirt, making sure his fingers brushed the skin underneath each one. He got about half way down before he looked back up to Magnus’ face. If he hadn’t been aroused before he was instantly so now. Those two golden orbs blazed back at him with an intensity that was almost frightening. 

“Fuck these buttons.” He growled and he took both sides of the shirt and yanked them apart hard. The remaining buttons flew off, hitting the floor and scattering around their feet. Alec crashed his mouth down onto his, his tongue plunging into Magnus’ mouth to wrestle with his. Their breathing was getting ragged as Alec felt Magnus’ hands scrambling at his own shirt. The sound of material ripping only made him want the other man more and he felt the cool air of his apartment on his skin.

“You moved your hands.” Alec breathed, as he worked his mouth over the surface of his smooth chest.

“So punish me then.” Magnus groaned, his fingers working on the button and zipper of Alec’s jeans. As soon as he had them open he jammed his hand inside, taking his hard cock and squeezing it firmly. Alec cried out before heading for Magnus’ waist band. Magnus grabbed his hand.

“Let me save you some time.” And with a click of his fingers the remains of their clothes had vanished and they stood naked before each other.   
They took a few seconds to appreciate the sight in front of them before Alec slid his hands around Magnus’ lower back and over the round cheeks of his firm butt. He gave it a squeeze before reaching underneath and lifting him so he could wrap his long legs around his waist. Magnus let out a sigh, ecstatic to find himself in the exact position that he had craved only moments ago. Alec raised his head to look at his boyfriend. When he had started this onslaught, he had imagined them moving to the bed before it got this far and he wasn’t even sure if this was even possible. Magnus felt his indecision and came to his rescue.

“You better believe this is happening here, my love. Just let me angle back a little.” And Alec took a step back so Magnus could better position himself. He clicked his fingers and Alec felt the pressure of a condom on his hard length and smiled.

“I’m really starting to appreciate your skills, babe.” He said between kisses. He positioned himself and started to slowly enter Magnus.

“For God’s sake, angel, don’t go all mild mannered on me, I need to feel you inside me, now.” Alec gave a moan and pushed himself hard into him, making Magnus cry out and grip his hips with his legs. Every thrust slammed him against the wall, and brought groans of pleasure out of both of them. Alec felt his body screaming towards release and he could sense Magnus was the same. 

“I love you so much.” Magnus said through gritted teeth, fingers dug into the working muscles of Alec’s back.

“Shit, Magnus I can’t wait.” Alec cried and he gave a final thrust, sending him over the edge and making him free fall into wave after wave of rapturous delight. 

Magnus joined him, extending his orgasm by the feeling of his warm essence coating the skin of his lower stomach. Alec fell heavily against his body, pushing him back against the wall. The sound of the print finally relinquishing its position making them both laugh, their voices heavy with the after effects of their exertions.

“Consider me punished, baby”. Magnus told him as he unlocked his legs from his waist and put his feet on the floor with shaky legs. He gave him a long slow kiss before resting his head against Alec’s chest.

“I think we need to go to bed or I’m not going to get up in the morning.” Alec said, resting his own head on the top of Magnus’.   
Alec went to reach for the light switch behind them and then laughed. They hadn’t even gotten that far before jumping all over each other. He took Magnus hand and after a magic assisted clean up, they headed for the bedroom.

The next morning when Alec got to work, he found himself tensely awaiting the arrival of Val Morgenstern. Before he had left the apartment, Magnus had performed a protection spell on him and assured him it was undetectable. 

The big black Audi pulled into the workshop and the man in question got out of the car. Alec felt his blood run cold and he had to fight to keep himself centred and as normal as possible. It wouldn’t do for him to suspect anything this quickly. Val handed him the keys with a smile.

“Well, here she is, all yours. Good luck.” He told him.

“No luck required. I’m sure that I’ll be able to sort it out for you with no problems. When I’m finished, I’ll get Pops to give you a call.” 

“I’ll await the call then.” He smiled at him again, and turned and walked out the door. Jace was just walking in at the same time and managed to brush shoulders with him. He gave him a brief glance and kept going. Alec watched as he got into a taxi.

“So, that was the referral? Did you find out who it was that gave him your name?” Jace asked.

“No, I didn’t. The sooner I get stated on his car the sooner he’ll be gone, anyway.” He got into the car and drove it into the work bay.

“You really don’t like that dude, do you?” Jace said when he got out.

“No, the guy’s a creep.” Alec said, and popped the hood.

 

Alec had managed to find the issue with the car fairly quickly but he decided to keep it to himself until the next day, at least, till he had a chance to go through its interior. 

“Hey, good luck with Lydia, man. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Jace told him as he got on his bike, ready to head out.

“Yeah, we’ll see. I’ll let you know how it goes later.” He said.

“You mean your gonna keep your hands off your boyfriend for longer than two minutes?” He smirked at Alec. He shot him a look and waved good bye before pulling out into the street.

He got to Lydia’s front door with five minutes to spare. He took a deep breath and rang the bell.  
A minute later, the door opened, and she was standing in front of him. she didn’t look all that happy but at least she didn’t look like she was going to take another swing at him.

“Come in.” Was all she said to him and she stood aside so he could enter. 

Alec had only ever been to her townhouse once before. He remembered how the pristine environment had made him feel like a little kid in a glassware shop. The decor was all whites and golds. Everything looked like it had been positioned by an interior designer for maximum effect. It made him worry about leaving dirty boot prints on the white tiled floor. He followed Lydia into the living room and she waved him to a leather sofa before taking the chair opposite.  
Alec perched gingerly on the edge, afraid of marking its surface or getting too comfortable.  
She looked at him expectantly, eyebrows raised and he took that as his que to start talking.

“Lydia, I don’t blame you for being upset with me. I deserve that. I should have told you sooner than I did. The thing is, this is all new for me too. Until I met Magnus, I was in deep denial with myself. I’d tried all my life to fight that part of me, to be the person I was expected to be. No one knew, my parents still don’t. My sister is the only one in my family to find out.”

“Jace tried to tell me it was partly his fault as well, that he had suspicions about you for a while but because you had never acted on them, he thought he had gotten it wrong.” Lydia said.

“Yeah, he’s right. I was always too afraid of losing his friendship to tell him so really it all comes back on me. I truly am sorry for misleading you, Lydia. Not being true to myself has caused more issues than if I had just been honest with everyone, including myself.” He gave her a contrite look, hopping she would accept his apology. She took in a deep breath before answering.

“I swore I wouldn’t forgive you Alec Lightwood. This would never have happened if you had been less of a gentlemen and not so damn good looking. If you had been more like most of the other guys that I’ve gone out with it would have been much easier but yes, I accept your apology.   
It can’t have been easy to live like that for so long. You must have been wound pretty tight. I suppose I should say sorry for slapping you too.” 

“No, I deserved that. You were angry and upset, I get it. Walking in and seeing Magnus and I must of taken the wind out of your sails.” Lydia gave a small laugh.

“Well, it was definitely that last thing I expected to see coming in the door. He’s very handsome, your guy. I hope he treats you well?’ 

Alec could feel the color rising in his cheeks and he found that even the mere mention of Magnus’ name made him go all warm inside. Lydia smiled broadly at him, shaking her head.

“MY God, look at you. You’re really smitten, aren’t you? I hope he feels the same way”

“Yeah, he does. I’m still trying to get my head around it all and I still keep thinking that it’s all too much too soon but I just don’t seem to be able to stop myself.” He told her.

“Maybe someday there will be someone that will light me up inside like that. I’m happy for you, Alec. I mean it.” Alec could feel the tension draining from him. Once again, he had underestimated someone. Maybe there was hope for his parents yet. He almost got up to leave before he remembered the book.

“I’m sure you will, Lydia you’re a really great person and if it makes you feel better, if I was straight, I’d consider myself very lucky to have you.” Lydia chuckled.

“Wow, well, that sounded really weir but thank you.”

“Ah, while I’m here, could I ask you something? Magnus collects rare books and a while ago, he lost track of one of them. It was really old one, with a white leather cover. It was supposed to be a book of spells and things. It sounds crazy, I know, probably just a book of ancient recipes for chicken soup and beef casserole but I mentioned to him that you dealt with rare books for the library and I promised I’d ask you about it. If you’d ever heard about it, I mean.” Lydia gave him a frown.

“So, what would you have done if I had tossed you out on your ear I wonder? I think you’re talking about a grimoire and it definitely sounds familiar. There aren’t too many books with white leather covers. Can I look into it and call you? I’d look have a look for it now but I actually have an appointment with a buyer in about twenty minutes.”

“No problem, I’ll get going out of your way then and thanks for that. Just give me a call when you get your hands on it.” Lydia gave him a questioning look.

“Don’t you mean, if I get my hands on it?” Oh shit, Alec thought, he really had to watch what he said about it.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant. Sorry. Do you still have my number or did you delete it from your phone?” He said sheepishly. She smiled and gently touched his arm.

“No, Alec, I still have it. As tempting as it was to smash the whole phone with a hammer, I managed to resist. I’ll call if I can track it down for Magnus.”

They went back to the front door and Lydia opened it for him. Alec was about to go out when she grabbed him and gave him a hug. He almost fell over with shock. 

“I’m glad you’ve found your Mr Right, Alec, you deserve to be happy.” He pulled back and put a quick kiss on her cheek.

“Thanks, Lydia, so do you. I’m sure he’s out there somewhere and you’ll bump into him when you least expect it, like I did with Magnus.” 

“I hope you’re right. Talk to you soon.” And with a final wave and a smile she shut the door.


	26. Chapter 26

Magnus was waiting for him just inside the door when he got back. He’d barely set foot inside the door when he launched himself at him, wrapping his arm around him tightly. Alec was thinking he was getting a lot of unexpected hugs tonight.

“I know it went okay but what happened about the book?” Magnus asked him when he finally let him go. 

“She’s going to look for it. She had a buyer coming so she was tied up with that tonight.” Magnus gave a sigh.

“Well, I was hoping to get my hands on it tonight but I guess one more day won’t matter. You’re not going to believe who called in here while you were gone?”

Alec stilled. 

“Who?”

“Your sister, Isabelle. We had rather a nice chat, actually. She’s very nice. She wants us to go to their place for dinner tomorrow night. I’ve already told her we’d be delighted.” Magnus beamed. Alec wasn’t so sure.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea? I mean, isn’t it pushing it a bit, meeting my family already?”

“Alexander, I’m not going anywhere and neither are you. Your family needs to get used to seeing us together. I know it’ll be strange for a while but they’ll get used to it. Besides, I haven’t been around a loving family in too many decades to remember and I really want yours to like me and see how much I love you.” He leaned in and kissed him.

“I hope you’re going to behave yourself then, not act like you did when we went out with Jace an Clary. Izzy and Simon have kids, you know so keep it G rated, okay?” Magnus laughed.

“Yes, my love, of course. Anyway, if I’m naughty, you can always punish me again.” he suggested, one eyebrow raised.

 

The next day, Alec managed to get an opportunity to go through Val’s car while Pops was out on a delivery. He crawled all over it, under seats, the glove compartment the trunk, everywhere but the car was as clean as if it had just rolled off the show room floor. He had fixed the relatively minor fault with the engine so he had no other option but to tell Pops that it was ready to go.  
Jace noticed that he looked distracted when they had lunch together.

“Please don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise?” He said.

“No, nothing like that. It’s just……” Alec knew he couldn’t tell Jace anything about who Val Morgenstern really was so he had to think quick and come up with something else.

“Izzy and Simon have asked us to their place for dinner tonight and I’m kinda nervous about it.”

“Yeah, with your sex crazed boyfriend that can’t keep his hands or his comments to himself, I would be too.” Jace agreed.

“It’s not that. I’ve never brought anyone to Izzy’s place before. They’ve never seen me with anyone either for that matter, let alone a guy. It’s a big step for me, for us. It’s like confirmation that this is really happening, we’re a couple now.” 

Alec shoved the remains of his sandwich back in the paper bag. He’d managed to talk himself out of having an appetite. 

“You told me Izzy was cool with you and Magnus though? You’re just over thinking things. Anyway, don’t you want them to meet the love of your life?”

“Yeah of course I do, but well, I was kind of hoping to keep him to myself for a bit longer before unleashing my family on him.” Jace patted his shoulder.

“I’m sure Magnus can take care of himself, man. I mean we’re talking about your sister and Simon, two people who could be the spokespeople for suburbanites everywhere and a couple of kids, how bad could it be?”

Alec smiled at his friend and gave a nod. He hoped that he was right. 

Magnus stepped from the cab out the front of the modest home of Isabelle and Simon Lewis. Alec followed him and after paying the driver, he grabbed his hand and gave it a supportive squeeze. 

“Alexander, please tell me you’re not still stewing over this? You’re practically vibrating with nerves. This is your sister, not some complete stranger.” Magnus turned and faced him, turning his face to his.

“I know this is a big thing for you but it’ll be fine. You’ll see.” He brushed his lips to his and then went back to make the next one a bit more serious but Alec pulled back.

“Oh no you don’t. I’m not going into my sister’s place worrying about having to hide the bulge in the front of my jeans. You promised me you’d behave yourself.” Magnus gave a laugh and put his head against Alec’s chest.

“Oh my angel, I love how responsive you are to me. If you want to know the truth, you have a similar effect on me, I’m just a bit more adept at managing it. Come on, your family is waiting.”

They mounted the front steps and Alec raised a hand to ring the doorbell but the staccato tap of high heels on a tiled floor stopped him. the door opened wide and Isabelle stood in front of them, a glass of wine in her hand.

“You’re here! I’m so glad I thought you might of chickened out. Come in, come in. Magnus, we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Izzy your boyfriend’s sister. Awww, it’s so cool to be able to say that, I can say that, right?” Alec looked at his sister like she’d grown an extra head. The woman hadn’t drawn breath since opening the door to them. Magnus was looking at her with amusement all over his face.

“Yes, Isabelle, of course you can and thank you once again for having us. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble.” Magnus said. 

“Phffft! No, no trouble at all. Simon’s the cook, hell, I can burn water. Please call me Izzy. Come on, let’s go inside.”

She toddled off on her heels towards an open door to the left. They entered a tastefully decorated living room done in cream, navy blue and deep red colors. This part of the house was open plan so the kitchen opened off from it, a large wooden dining room table separating the two sections. 

“Simon, they’re here! Come and meet Magnus.” Izzy told the dark haired, solidly built man who was busy at the hot plates on the stove. Simon turned around, wiping his hands on the apron he was wearing that was covered in bright pink lips and the words “kiss the cook” on it. He smiled at his brother in law and came around the counter, holding out a hand to him.

“Alec, good to see you, bro. It’s been a while.” He said, shaking Alec’s hand.

“Yeah, I’ve sort of been busy.” He said, and immediately regretted it when Izzy started giggling.

“Yeah, so I hear and you must be the reason why, Magnus, isn’t it? Simon, Simon Lewis.” He stuck out his hand once more and Magnus shook it.

“Guilty as charged, I’m afraid. It’s lovely to meet you Simon. You and Izzy have a lovely home.”

‘Thanks, yes, we like it. Would you like a drink?” Simon offered and he got Alec a beer and Magnus a glass of wine.

“Why don’t we sit in the living room, dinner will be a few more minutes.” Simon said and they went in and sat on the dark blue lounge chairs.

Alec and Magnus sat together on the three-seater sofa, Magnus making sure he was right up close to him, and grabbed his hand, threading his fingers through Alec’s and resting their hands on his thigh. Alec caught Izzy as she was about to get all gushy and shot her a stern look. She frowned back at him and sipped her wine. Alec had no idea how someone could do a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn in only a few days but at least it was better than the alternative. 

Just then, two dark haired little boys came into the room, they were both very much like their mother, having her fine features and slender statures.

“Uncle Allie! Uncle Allie!” They yelled and flung themselves at him, scrambling into his lap. Alec was forced to let Magnus’ hand go and hold on to them as two sets of little arms wrapped around his neck.

“Hey guys, how are my two favourite nephews?” Alec smiled at them as the each took a knee to sit on.

“Aww, Uncle Allie, we’re your only nefoos.” The taller boy told him.

“hey I want you guys to meet someone. Jem, Max, this is Magnus.” Alec said, nodding towards him. 

Two little faces silently regarded him for a couple of minutes before Jem, the younger boy, got down off his uncle’s knee and went over to stand in front of Magnus.

“Hello, Magus, I’m Jeribuyah Lewis and I’m four.” He said, holding up three fingers. Magnus grinned and leaned forward.

“I think he means his name is Jerimiah and he got it half right, he’s three. Jem, it’s Magnus, not magus.” Simon corrected him.

“That’s okay, Simon. Magnus is a funny name, isn’t it? But I like yours, can I call you Jem too? I don’t think I can remember Jerimiah.” 

“yeah, but you must be really old like my Great grandpa, cause he doesn’t remember my name either.”

“Jem!” Izzy said. Magnus couldn’t help the grin that broke out on his face. 

“It’s fine, Izzy. Young Jem here is just stating his mind.” Jem was regarding him with a confused look.

“But you don’t look real old like Grandpa, you’re really pretty.” Izzy almost choked on her mouthful of wine. Magnus laughed. 

“Well, thank you Jem, that was nice of you to say. Can I tell you a secret?” He leaned closer to the small boy who was looking at him with wide eyes, his glasses magnifying them even more. He nodded his head.

“I am really old but I can look like this because I make sure I eat all my vegetables; do you eat all yours?” Magnus asked him, pretending to look serious. Jem nodded his head rapidly.

“No he doesn’t. He’s just saying that.” Max said, frowning at his brother. Jem turned around and poked out his tongue.

“Now boys, behave. You don’t want Uncle Alec’s friend to think you can’t behave yourselves.” Simon told him.

“You must be Max, how are you?” magnus said, holding out his hand for the bo to shake it. Max took it and gave it several firm jerks before he looked down at the rings that Magnus had on every second finger.

“Wow, you have more rings than my Mummy does.” He stated, touching each one with a finger. He looked up to look at Izzy and frowned.

“I thought you said that Magnus was Uncle Allie’s boyfriend, not his friend?” 

Alec looked at his sister in surprise. What the heck had she been telling the boys? Izzy’s face, already rather pink from the wine, went a deeper shade. She cleared her throat and looked apologetically at Alec and Magnus before she went to open her mouth to answer her son.

“You’re right, Max, I am Uncle Aliie’s boyfriend, is that okay with you?” Magnus said to him. The room was silent for a few seconds.

“Yeah, I had a girlfriend at school once called Maisie. I didn’t know you could have boyfriends as well but that’s okay. I don’t care.” Max gave a casual shrug of his shoulders and jumped down off his uncle’s knee.

“You wanna come and play X box with us?” he asked Magnus.

“Ah, I think Magus would rather stay with uncle Allie, Max.” Simon told him, “Besides it’s dinner time, so you and Jem go and wash your hands.” 

Max and Jem tore off out of the room and around a corner. 

“Well you seem to of made an impression on those two Magnus, Max doesn’t ask just anyone if they want to play with him.” Izzy said as the rose from the chairs and headed into the kitchen.

“They’re both great kids, you must be very proud of them.” Magnus said as he took Alec’s hand again.

“Yeah we are but they’re both full time jobs, that’s for sure.” Izzy said as they took their seats around the table.

“I can imagine. Both of them seem very switched on.”

“Yeah, sorry for the boyfriend remark, max must of overheard he talking to Simon about you two.”

“That’s fine, I don’t mind at all. I think little kids are more accepting of certain things than adults are. To them, things are still black and white. They haven’t learnt that there are different shades yet.” Magnus replied.

“Yeah, maybe we can get the boys to talk to Mum and dad first before we have to” Alec said. Izzy laughed.

“Yeah, anything is worth a try.” 

Max and Jem returned to the room and took their seats as Simon brought over a huge bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.

“My dad makes the bestest ‘getti and meatballs, magnus, do you like ‘getti too?” Jem asked as his father put a heaped serving spoonful on his plate.

“I do. I can’t wait to try some. You know, I have been to the place where you can eat spaghetti every day.” He told him.

“wow, that would be great, can you take me and Max there too?” Magnus laughed.

“It’s very far away, Jem. It’s another country called Italy but who knows? Maybe someday we’ll all go there.” 

The rest of dinner went off smoothly and there was chocolate cheesecake for dessert. A must have item on the menu when Alec came over, apparently. Magnus watched as his boyfriend managed to eat two large slices. 

“I don’t know how you can eat that much of something so rich, Alexander.” Magnus said, shaking his head.

“What can I say, I have good taste where cheesecake is concerned and luckily, my brother in law is a good cook.”

“Thanks, bro.” Simon said.

“I don’t think Alec’s good taste only goes so far as that either. I’ve never seen my brother this happy.” Izzy said, bringing cups and a coffee pot over to the table.

Magnus turned towards Alec and smiled at him, noticing the color rising on his cheeks. He took Alec’s hand again lifting it up to kiss his knuckles.

“He’s not the only one, Izzy. Before this handsome man came into my life I was sure I’d be alone forever. Now I know I’m not.” Izzy was giving them that gushy look like Clary had the other night. Alec waited for inevitable sentence that seemed to always follow it.

“You guys are so sweet.” 

Alec rolled his eyes. Yep, there it was, yet again.


	27. Chapter 27

“Can you come and see my room, Magnus?” Max asked him.

“Why, I’d be honored to see it Max, if it’s okay with your Mum and Uncle Alec, that is” He raised an eyebrow and looked at Izzy.

“Just don’t drive Magnus too crazy, Max.” Izzy warned him.

“Seems I made a big mistake bringing you here, babe. You’re stealing my favorite uncle status.” Magnus grinned and put a hand on Alec’s cheek before giving him a quick kiss.

“I’m sure that’s not true. Be right back.”

Max had grabbed his hand and was tugging at him to lead him away. Alec stood with his hands on his hips and watched as his boyfriend and his nephew disappeared down the hallway. He smiled and shook his head before looking back at his sister who was looking at him all shiny eyed, one hand covering her mouth like she was forcing herself not to say what she was thinking. Alec rolled his eyes. What the heck had sent her off now? He quickly went over the conversation with Magnus in his head and was horrified at himself when he realized that he had called Magnus babe in front of everyone. Shit, he really was turning soft when things like that happened. Izzy took the hand from her face and went to say something but Alec held up a finger.

“Don’t even think about it.” He warned her and started grabbing the empty plates and cups to help clear the table.

 

Max’s bedroom was done in pale blue. The ceiling had clouds painted on it and Max informed Magnus that he thought they were too babyish for him now. 

“This has been my room since forever. But I’m big now, I’m five.” He said proudly.

“That is very big. You’re practically an adult.” Magnus said, amused. 

There seemed to be a nautical theme happening with pictures of boats on the walls and the quilt on his bed having red sailing ships with white sails on it. There were a couple of wooden model boats on a set of shelves along with some framed photos and a vast book collection. Max’s bed side chest even had a lamp with boats around the shade. 

“You must like boats a lot” Magnus said.

“Yeah, but I want to change it cause I’m five now and I don’t like them as much. I like Batman cause he’s a hero and saves people.” 

“He certainly does. I like your photos, who are they of?” Max went over to the shelf and grabbed a frame.

“This is my family. Mummy and Daddy and Jem. We were at grandma and grandpa’s house” 

“You all look very happy. You must have had a good time.”

“yeah, kinda. I like going there but grandma has a lot of stuff you can’t touch so you have to be careful. Mummy said if I smiled good for the photo I’d get a lolly pop.” Magnus suppressed a laugh.

“I bet you got it too from the look of that.”

“Yep, it was good, red, my favorite. Jem got one too but he dropped his and cried. Have you been to grandma’s house?”

“No, I haven’t, is it nice?”

“Yeah but when you go don’t touch her stuff or she gets mad.” Max warned him, his face very serious. Magnus chuckled.

“I’ll remember that, thanks for the tip. Who’s in the other one?”

Max put the first frame back and grabbed the next one. The photo was in a glossy red frame with blue writing around it that said, “best uncle eva!” He smiled as he saw Alec crouched down, beaming back at the camera with Jem and Max either side. They look like they were laughing.

“What a great photo. I bet Uncle Alec was making you laugh.” Max giggled.

“Yeah, he was tickling us. He’s always doing that. Does he do it to you?”

Just before Magnus answered him he caught movement just outside the door and realised Izzy was peeking around the frame, watching them. He pretended he hadn’t noticed.

“He has, actually. He made me laugh too.” Max regarded him with thoughtful eyes.

“we love Uncle Allie lots. Do you love him too?” 

“I do, very much.”

“He’s never had a boyfriend before. He must love you lots.”

“I think he does, yes.” 

“I knew you loved him lots.” 

“You did? How did you know?”

“Cause you look at him like my Mummy looks at me and my brother and my Daddy sometimes when she tells us she loves us.”

Magnus felt tears filling his eyes. Out of the mouths of babes, he thought.

“That’s a very sweet thing to say Max, thank you.”

“Uncle Allie looks at you that way too. I seen it when we had dinner.” 

Oh God, this kid was cutting him to the bone. He noticed that Izzy had disappeared from the door way and he could hear sniffles coming from the hallway.  
Max was quiet for a couple of minutes before he said anything else. Max was definitely a deep thinker.

“You wouldn’t hurt my Uncle Allie, would you? Cause I heard Mummy telling daddy that she’d go after you if you ever did and I really like you, Magnus. Mummy can be scary like that sometimes. She puts bad people in jail, you know.”

Magnus, smiled and swallowed hard, knowing that Isabelle was just around the corner still and would have heard every word. He saw her poke her head in the door and open her mouth to admonish her son, but Magnus looked up at her and gave a barely notable shake of his head. Max hadn’t noticed his mother’s presence because he had his back to the doorway. Magnus laid the photo on the bed before kneeling down to be eye level with the boy. He grabbed his hands in his.

“Max, I would never hurt your uncle. I love him very much and you don’t hurt the people you love, if you can help it at all. You don’t have to worry about that.” Max’s face brightened.

“Mummy says that too but I can’t help it sometimes when I push Jem, he’s such a baby sometimes.”

“But he’ll get big like you someday, and I bet you’ll be great friends.” 

Max smiled and nodded. He reached out a small finger and gently touched Magnus’ goatee.

“Do you kiss Uncle Allie?” Izzy’s eyes flew wide and a hand went to her mouth. Magnus had to really concentrate on not bursting into laughter.

“Yes, I do, why?”

“Does he laugh when you do it?” 

Magnus raised his eyebrows. He had no idea where this was going but he couldn’t wait to find out.

“Sometimes, why?”

“My daddy doesn’t have hairs on his face like you but sometimes he kisses me and he’s all prickly and it tickles my lips I bet that’s why Uncle Allie laughs when you kiss him.” 

Max looked very pleased with himself for coming to that conclusion. Magnus could hold himself back any longer. This kid was too much.

“Max, can I have a hug? I think you’re terrific and Uncle Allie is very lucky to have such a grown up young man for a nephew.”

Max beamed back at him and threw his small body at Magnus, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck. Magnus laughed and rocked backwards, hugging back.

“You smell really pretty like my mummy.” He said, when he finally let him go. Magnus snorted. Max’s small face changed suddenly to a frown.

“That’s okay to say a man smells good, isn’t it?” Magnus stood back up and ruffled his hair.

“Yes, Max that’s fine. You smell good too but I think we had better go back out to Uncle Allie in case he gets jealous.”

He noticed that Izzy had gone again.

Izzy had had stood observing her son and Magnus until the comment about the goatee and she couldn’t hold herself back any longer. She had reached down and removed her shoes so Max and Magnus wouldn’t hear her running up the hall.   
She had come flying into the kitchen and launched herself at her brother with enough force that he had been flung back into the refrigerator. He dropped the dish towel he’d been using to help Simon with the saucepans he’d been washing.

“Whoa! Shit, Izzy, what’s gotten into you?”

He pulled her arms from his neck where they were in danger of cutting his air supply off. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was wiping them away furiously. Alec frowned at her.

“Okay, how much wine had you had because I think it’s time you switched to coffee.” 

Izzy laughed and grabbed him again, this time around his waist. Alec gave her an impatient look and patted her on the back. Without her heels, Izzy barely made it to the middle of his chest.

“Your boyfriend is the sweetest guy in the world, and I hope you appreciate that.” She said, looking up at him. Alec couldn’t help the goofy look that took over his face.

“Yeah, I know that.”

“He loves you so much. You better be good to him.” Izzy frowned, poking her brother in the stomach with a sharp finger nail.

“Ow! Isn’t this a conversation that you should be having with him? I have every intention of being good to him, by the way.”

“Just as well, you big idiot. The man is smitten, almost as much as you are with him.” Alec could feel his face heating. Simon grabbed his wife and pulled her off Alec.

“Okay, I think you’ve embarrassed your brother enough for one evening.” 

Magnus and Max entered the room and Izzy left Simon to attack him next. Magnus smiled, knowing full well what had given Izzy her burst of affection. Alec walked over to them and pried his sister off his boyfriend before taking him into his arms.

“This one’s mine Izzy, get your own.” He said before he kissed him. Magnus looked lit up inside and Alec wondered just what had gone on in Max’s bedroom.


	28. Chapter 28

All the way home in the cab, Magnus couldn’t say enough good things about Izzy, Simon and their two adorable boys. After the first twenty minutes, Alec just smiled and nodded. He couldn’t help being amused by Magnus’ enthusiasm for his family. They had really made an impression on him.  
Magnus was still talking just before they reached the apartment but he stopped mid-sentence to look at his boyfriend. 

“What’s that look for?” He asked.

“It’s you. I don’t think you’ve come up for air since we left. I would have been happy for you to to say the you had a good time tonight but to say that would be an understatement.” Alec laughed.

“You’re making fun of me, but you have no idea how long it’s been since I last had such a great time and enjoyed the company of such lovely people.” Magnus told him as they pulled up in front of the building. Alec paid the driver and they got out and headed for the door. Alec had just put the key in the lock when he realised Magnus had gone quiet. He turned to see that he was still standing on side walk and then an unsettling wave washed over him.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s been here. Valentine. I can feel the change in the wards I put up.” Magnus told him.

Alec finished unlocking the door and then started flying up the stairs with Magnus hot on his heels.

“Alexander, wait! Let me go first. I don’t think he’s still here but I’m the only one who can tell if he’s set any kind of trap for us.”

He passed him on the stairs and they continued up till they arrived at the door. Alec gave him the keys and after checking around him first, magnus gave a snap of his fingers and produced a blue flame which was covering the surface of his palm. He held it up to the door and then turned the key and pushed it open. Alec shadowed Magnus as they entered the room. Magnus stopped when he got to the middle of the room. Alec heard him let out a relieved breath and through their bond he could feel the tension draining from him.

“It’s okay. He didn’t get this far. I think the protection wards stopped him from getting any further than the street.” Alec turned on the light switch and went over to magnus and took him in his arms.

“We have to be really careful from now on, my angel. Especially now he knows where you live and he would have to know that I’m with you. I can’t have anything happening to you, it would kill me to see you hurt.” Magnus said, his cheek against Alec’s. 

“Say the word and I can fix the bastard’s car so he runs out of brakes in a good spot.” Alec said, holding him tightly to him. They might only have been together for a couple of weeks but their bond and love for each other made it feel like a lot longer.

“As tempting as that sounds, my love, I have no wish to only be able to see you behind bars. Going to jail because of him is giving him more credit than he deserves. Once I get my hands on that book, we’ll have the upper hand. He can’t beat me, Alexander. I’m way more powerful than he ever will be.” 

Alec turned his head and kissed him deeply making Magnus have no doubt as to how much he loved him. very reluctantly, Magnus broke their connection which had left both of them shiny eyed and wanting more. Alec was slowly moving his mouth down the column of Magnus’ neck, making sure the side of his face was rubbing against the side of his jaw. He could feel Magnus wanting to give in to his feelings but he was fighting it.

“Alexander, I need you to focus for a minute.” He said, his voice wavering slightly. He had raised a hand to rest it on the side of Alec’s face, sliding it up into his hair. He had a soft curve to his lips and he could feel himself leaning into his touch.

“I am focused, babe, can’t you tell?’ He murmured, tasting the skin on his neck.

“Not that way, Alexander. Hey, listen to me. I need you hear what I’m saying.” Magnus moved his head out of the way of his warm lips and tongue hating the feel of the cool air on his damp skin.

“I need you to remember to call Lydia tomorrow, as soon as you can and ask her about that book, okay? We need to get it as quickly as possible.” Magnus looked into Alec’s heavy lidded eyes.

“Okay, I will I promise. Now can I refocus again?” 

The next day, Alec arrived at work, ready to let Pops know that the Audi was finished so Morgenstern could come and pick it up. He secretly hoped that once he realised that Magnus was on to him that he would just take his car and leave them in peace.  
He came for the car just before lunch and Alec met him in the parking lot to hand him the keys.

“Thank you so much, I’m glad you were able to sort it out for me.” 

Val gave him an oily smile. Alec wanted to smack it off his face but he knew he couldn’t act impulsively. He held his hand out with the keys in it and Valentine went to take them from him. The second he touched his hand, he jerked back like he’d been stung, rubbing his hand.

“Ha ha, must be static electricity. I’ll see you around some time.” He told him, but that smile was wiped off his face. 

Alec watched as he pulled out into the street. 

“Yeah, not if I see you first.” He said and headed back into the workshop.

Magnus had renewed his protection spell on him that morning and even the barest of touches had obviously set it off. It was a very small victory to see him get zapped by it. His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. He should of known who it would be.

“Alexander, are you alright? I felt that protection spell working. He didn’t hurt you did he?”

“Calm down, Babe, I’m fine. Your spell worked too well. He barely touched me when I handed him his keys and it got him. Sat him back a bit too. Pity it hadn’t put him on his ass.”

“I’m just glad that it worked so well. The second I felt it, the thought of him getting that close to you made me feel sick. Please keep an eye out for him. I wouldn’t put it passed him to try something sneaky. Have you rang Lydia about the book?” 

“Just about to. I’ll see you tonight. Love you, babe.” Alec added quietly.

“Love you too, my angel. Be careful” He turned to go back inside and ended up running straight into Jace who was standing there with their lunches and a goofy grin on his face. 

“Love you, babe? Are you serious? You’ve known each other what? Two minutes?” Alec frowned at his friend and grabbed the bag from him.

“It’s two weeks actually and yes, I’m in love with Magnus. Get used to it.”

“Okay, calm down. Boy, you’re touchy today, what’s the matter? Didn’t you get any last night?” Jace elbowed him in the ribs as they sat at the side of the workshop in their usual place.

“If you must know, I did get some, more than once actually so you’ll have to come up with another theory. “ Alec wished he could tell Jace about what was going on but he couldn’t so that without risking Magnus’ true identity. 

“Shit, Alec, that’s way too much information. I just hope your keeping your head about all this. I just don’t want you to get all carried away and get hurt when if doesn’t work out.”

“That’s not going to happen, Jace. Magnus and I aren’t going anywhere. It’s special, really special.” 

Jace could see from the look on his friend’s face that he meant every word. He gave him a friendly pat on the back and smiled.

“Yeah, I can see that. I’m happy for you, man.” Just then, Alec’s phone rang.

“Probably Mr Wonderful checking up on you. Again.” Jace joked but when Alec looked at the caller ID he saw it was Lydia.

“Alec, Hey. I didn’t get you at work did I?”

“No, We’re at lunch, it’s fine What’s up? Did you find that book?”

“I di actually and you’re not going to believe it, it was one I have in my own collection and this is really weird but the buyer I had the other night was looking for it as well.” 

Alec frowned at the phone. Who the hell would be looking for the same book as magnus? He felt a chill run up his spine. There was only one other person.

“Lydia, who was the buyer?”

“Ah, Morgenstern, I think his name was. Very charming guy, actually. Seemed to know his stuff. I told him I had another interested party so I’d let him know. I hope Magnus has deep pockets if he wants that book.”

“Whatever you do don’t let that guy get his hands on it, Lydia. Magnus will pay anything you’re asking.”

“Wow, are you sure? It would be way into the five digits, you know. You’d better let Magnus know before you make any decisions about it.”

“I know Magnus is prepared to pay you whatever you want for it. He’s been looking for that book for a long time an does want it going to anyone else. Can we pick it up from you tonight?”

“Gee, he really must want it. Yeah that’s fine but can you make sure you come before seven? I sort of have a date.” Alec raised his eyebrows. Well, Lydia sure wasn’t letting the grass grow under her feet then. Nothing gets you over the last one like the next one, he supposed.

“Yeah, no problem. Hope your date goes well.” 

“Thanks and I pretty sure this guy is straight too, so I have an outside chance, at least” she gave a laugh.

Good to think they could laugh about things now.

They said their goodbyes then ended the call. He was about to push Magnus’ number but he beat him to it.

“What’s happened? I felt you’re concern about something.”

“Magnus, you’re going to have to calm down or you’re going to give yourself a heart attack. Lydia just called me and she has the book but that buyer she had at her place after I was there was after it as well. I bet you any money you like it was Val Morgenstern.”

“Damn, he’s closer than I thought. We have to get it as soon as possible.”

“I know that’s why I told her we’d come after work tonight and pick it up. I also told her you’d be prepared to pay a lot of money for it, I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course, Alexander. You did well, my love. I’ll see you after work then.” Alec hung up and went back to his lunch.

“I’m not even going to ask about what that was all about but it sounded like the plot of some old movie.” Jace said. Alec hated keeping secrets from him but this one was too big to reveal.

“Magnus collects books and Lydia has one that he wants, that’s all.” Alec hoped he made it sound casual enough, that it wasn’t a big deal.

“That’s convenient, don’t you think? I hope Magnus isn’t going out with you just to get his hands on it.” Alec felt anger prickle his skin.

“No it isn’t, Jace. He didn’t know who Lydia was until I told him. Why are you being so negative about Magnus? I was under the impression that you liked him.”

“Whoa, hey cool it man. It was just a thought. I like him fine. Just watching your back, that’s all.”

Alec let himself relax. His whole thing ad him on edge. The sooner they picked up the book, the better.


	29. Chapter 29

Alec got home as quickly as he dared, racing through the streets on his bike faster than he normally would. He pulled into his parking spot and it was then that he noticed Magnus’ sleek black Jaguar parked out the front.  
He opened the door, taking the stairs two at a time before he reached his door. He was just about to put the key in the lock when it opened.

“Why is your car here? Are you leaving after we get the book?” Alec asked Magnus. He was trying to keep the panic out of his voice but it wasn’t working.   
Magnus gave him a slow smile and took him in his arms. Alec could feel some of his tension going but not all of it.

“No, angel, I’m not going anywhere. I asked Raphael to come just as a precaution. Besides, having the car here is more convenient then having to rely on taxis when we need to go anywhere together.” It was only then that Alec noticed Raphael, reclining on the sofa, one leg casually crossed over the other. He looked back at him but his face betrayed nothing.  
“Why do we need him here, I can protect you. It’s my job, remember?” Alec frowned.

“I know my love and I have no doubt you could but Raph and I have had dealings with Valentine before. We have a better understanding of what he might try. Besides, Raph has a very unique skill set that just might come in handy. It’s for your protection as well.” Magnus explained. 

Alec thought about what he had just said. Raphael had dealt with Valentine before? Did that mean…….. Magnus, as usual, picked up his thoughts through their bond. He took Alec’s hand and led him back to the sofa. Raphael relinquished his seat and went to stand over near the window that looked out at the street below. He moved the heavy curtain almost imperceptibly and looked out.

"Alexander, as you’ve just realized, Raph and I have known each other for a long time now. About two centuries to be exact. I was able to help him at a time of his life that was very difficult for him. I want to be honest with you in all aspects of my life but it I just worry about overwhelming you with things when you are still dealing with your own issues.”

Alec felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Jesus, here we go, Magnus was about to tell him the he and Raphael had been more than friends at some point. A flood of jealousy filled his body even though he knew it was ridiculous. Even if that had of been true, Magnus was with him now and their deep connection to each other meant more than just being together. It would explain, the thinly veiled threat that he had received from him that night he had driven him home. Did he still have feelings for Magnus? This was all getting too much. Magnus reached out a hand and held it to his face. Alec felt his mind calm. He had no idea if it was their bond that had that effect on hi or if it was just Magnus himself but he was glad of it. Magnus brushed his lips to his, not taking his eyes from his for a second.

“Even if we didn’t have our bond, Alexander, I could tell what you were thinking anyway. It’s written all over your face. You don’t need to be jealous, my angel. Raph and I have never had a personal relationship. It’s only ever been friendship. I only employ him because of his insistence in me doing so. The silly boy thinks he owes me something, even when I’ve told him a thousand times he doesn’t.” 

Magnus looked over to Raphael and gave him a frown but he was smiling at him at the same time.   
This wasn’t helping Alec, however. He was still none the wiser as to what Raphael’s deal was.

“Can’t you just tell me what the hell this is all about Magnus? I’m a big boy, I think I can take anything you want to tell me. At least I’d know then one way or the other.”

Magnus took in a breath. Now it was Alec who could sense the anxiety around him. It must be something pretty heavy if it’s got him this wound up, he thought.

“Alec, Raphael is over two hundred years old and is immortal, like me.” Alec felt his eyebrows disappear into his hairline. Wow, okay, made sense, not totally unexpected, after what he had said earlier.

“Does that mean he’s a warlock as well?” Alec asked.

Magnus’ eyes briefly flickered over to where the person in question was standing. Raphael just looked back at him, nothing showing on his face what so ever and somehow Magnus must have interpreted this as him giving permission to answer.

“Remember when I told you that I helped protect this world from the other world? In between the two there are things that exist that humans have only ever gotten a hint of on very rare occasions. They are called downworlders. Mundanes have created legends and stories about them for centuries but that’s all they ever perceived them to be.” 

Alec cast a quick glance in Raphael’s direction, half expecting the man to of suddenly sprouted a tail and horns or something. Magnus keep going.

“Most of the time, these people look just like a normal human being. That’s how they are able to stay hidden in plain sight in the real world. But they are very good at hiding their differences in order to stay safe.”

“So, what are we talking about here, then? What do they hide?”

“Alexander, most of the scary stories you probably heard as a child about werewolves, fairies and vampires were all based on fact. They really do exist. Most of those legends and stories have been mixed in with a healthy amount of rubbish, however, to make them worse than they really are. But their basis comes from truth. Raphael is a vampire.” 

Alec felt his blood run cold as his eyes flew to where Raphael was standing. His first reaction had been fear, allowing every story and movie he had ever seen in his life about the subject to come pouring into his mind. Fuck, was this really happening? Had he really heard, right? 

The only reason why he wasn’t completely flipping out over this was the fact that his boyfriend was a warlock. He had a sudden urge to burst into laughter. You thought that was weird. Boy, guess you got that one wrong, Alec thought to himself. Magnus was right this was way too much to deal with for a week night. Any night, to be exact.

“I know this is a lot to take in, my love, but as I said, I love you and if you want to be in my life, you have to know everything. I don’t want any secrets between us. Are you alright?”

Concern was covering his face like a mask as he looked back at Alec. 

“I’m not sure yet. I think my head is about to explode with all of this. I’m still getting used to the idea that the man I’m in love with is a warlock, for God’s sake. Now I find out his friend is a vampire? So, do I have to stock up with garlic and holy water from now on?” Alec asked.

This made him question everything he had ever heard about the subject. Magnus looked down for a second to hide a smile.

“No, it doesn’t mean that at all. Those are two things have been totally fabricated about vampires, along with the ones about them not having a reflection in a mirror and sleeping in coffins. Some of the stories are true, though. They do consume blood to live and a stake through the heart will kill them. Silver burns their skin as will direct sunlight. That’s why Raph usually sticks to our house and only goes anywhere at night. But he usually sleeps at night as well, like we do. You don’t have to be afraid of him, Alexander. Raph has mastered his need for blood and he doesn’t go sneaking off into the night to attack unsuspecting campers or towns people. There is a supplier from the downworld he gets what he needs from.” 

“And before you ask, I don’t sparkle in sunlight either or turn into a bat. That’s just insulting.” Raphael added, looking back at them.

Alec felt a little stupid about the fact that those things had indeed crossed his mind but he wasn’t going to admit it.   
Suddenly, he looked at his phone, remembering about the time.

“As much as I’d prefer to sit here and contemplate all this and risk an aneurysm or something, we should get going and get your book. Lydia is going out and we don’t have much time.” Alec rose from the sofa and pulled Magnus up with him.

“I’ll go down stairs and start the car.” Raphael told them and left the apartment. Magnus put his arms around Alec and pressed himself close.

“You’re truly amazing, my love, for taking this as well as you have. I was terrified that you’d bolt from the door and out of my life after that.” Alec held him tightly as well. He bent his head and kissed him deeply feeling Magnus melting into him.

“I can’t say that I’m completely alright with this, but I’d be a big hypocrite if I called bullshit on this when I’m totally in love with someone who can produce a magic flame from his hand. I just need time to think all this through, that’s all but that’s something we are in short supply on at the moment, we should get going, babe, if you want to get that book.” 

Magnus gave him a finally squeeze and kissed him once more before they headed out the door.  
He was just so grateful to hear the words, ‘I love you’ still coming from Alec after everything he’d just told him. His world had caused him too much pain in the past as it was. As old and as experienced as he was, rejection never got easier and this time he was sure that the thought of losing Alexander would be the end of him completely. Warlocks were not immune to dying of broken hearts.


	30. Chapter 30

They got to Lydia’s in record time, thanks to Raphael’s impressive driving skills. Alec commented about it as they pulled up out the front.

“I’ve had plenty of time to practice.” Raphael replied. His face, as always, was completely deadpan. 

Alec was starting to wonder if it was a vampire thing or just Raphael himself. He and Magnus got out of the car and went to the front door and rang the bell. Lydia answered a few seconds later. She was obviously getting ready for her date as she was putting in an earring as she opened the door. Her hair and makeup were done and she was wearing a very nice cocktail dress.

“Oh hi guys, can we make this quick? My date will be here soon and I want to be ready on time.” 

Alec and Magnus followed her inside and into the living room. She walked over to the coffee table and picked up a large white leather covered book. Its pages were dark yellow from age and the leather was very worn. Alec could feel the excitement coming from Magnus. He may have looked calm and collected on the outside but the vibe coming from their bond had the same energy as a two year old at Christmas time. He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and produced a check and handed it to Lydia as she returned with the book.

“I hope that amount is correct. Tell me if I have to change it.” Lydia’s eyes grew wide as she took it from him. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she was able to speak.

“Oh my God, this is well over what I was asking for it, Magnus.”

“Believe me, it’s worth every penny of that money to have it back with me. Think of it as a thank you for not selling it to the other buyer.” Magnus told her smiling.

“Wow, okay. Here you are.” 

She handed over the book to Magnus and Alec heard him breathe a sigh of relief as the worn leather cover touched his palms. He moved his hand reverently over it, like he was reacquainting himself with its texture. He looked lost in thought.

“Thanks so much yet again. Come on Alexander, I think we should let the lovely Miss Lydia finish getting ready for her night out.” Magnus said, snapping out of his reverie. They walked to the door and Lydia opened it for them.

“I hope you have a nice night. You deserve it.” Alec said as they went out.

“Thanks, Alec. So do I. I have a good feeling about it.” Lydia smiled back at him and then gave a laugh.

“You were right about one thing, by the way, Alec. You just never know when you might meet someone special.”

“Really, how’s that?”

“The guy I’m going out with tonight actually showed up on my door step. It was crazy, one minute we were discussing books and the next he was asking me out. He seems like such a great guy, I couldn’t help myself saying yes.”

Both Alec and Magnus stilled on the first step of the front porch. It couldn’t be, could it?

“Lydia do you mind me asking who this prince charming is?”

“Not at all, his name is Val. Val Morgenstern. He’s the buyer that came here after you did the other night.” Alec’s eyes went straight to Magnus’ but he saw him give him a barely perceptible shake of his head. 

“Well, best of luck and I hope it works out for you, my dear but we have to be leaving. Good night.” 

Magnus grabbed Alec’s arm and tugged him from the top step. He knew he was on the verge of saying something to her.  
They didn’t speak again till they were back in the car. 

“Magnus, why wouldn’t you let me say something to her? The guy’s a predator and he’s probably only going out with Lydia to get his hands on that book. I hate to think what he’ll do when he knows she hasn’t got it anymore.” Alec said, frowning. 

He had no wish to see Lydia hurt in any way.

“Alexander, think about it. If you had said anything it would come out sounding like you had something against her dating someone else. And I doubt she would have listened anyway. I’m fairly certain that Val has put some kind of compulsion spell on her from the look in her eyes that I saw. She would be beyond reason.” 

Magnus could still feel Alec’s concern for his ex-girlfriend. He grabbed his hand, smiling at him. Always ready to jump in and be the good guy, he thought. It was one of the things he loved about him the most.

“Val isn’t going to do anything to her in a public place and risk detection, my love. I’ll get Raphael to wait outside her house for when she gets home and make sure she arrives back safely.” 

Alec squeezed his hand and leaned over to kiss him. He loved how Magnus always knew the right thing to do to make him feel better.

“Thanks, babe. I appreciate it. I’m just sorry that Lydia has gotten caught up in all this.” He said, laying his head on his shoulder.

“So am I, my angel. These are the times that I wished I had a boring normal life.”

“But the problem with that statement is the word boring. I’ve done the boring thing and believe me it’s over rated, babe. So is normal too, by the way. The last two weeks with you have been the most interesting of my life. Especially the part where I found out that the guy I’m in love with is a bad ass warlock and his friend is Count Dracula. It might be a lot to take in but I love it.” Alec said and Magnus raised his head up to give him a thousand-watt smile. 

His golden eyes glowing back at him brightly. He took his face in his hands and kissed him long and deep. They broke apart only to take in some much-needed oxygen and spent the rest of the trip back to the apartment with their foreheads touching and hands firmly clasped together.

When they arrived back to the apartment, Magnus asked Raphael to go back to Lydia’s house and wait for her to get back safely, telling him to call as soon as she did. Alec got out of the car and was about to follow Magnus in to the building when a cold hand grabbed his arm. He felt a chill working its way through the material of his jacket and into his skin, the icy fingers of it were starting to creep into the rest of his body. He shivered involuntarily and looked up to see Raphael’s equally icy stare only an inch from his face.

“I know that Magnus loves you and that if I ever did anything to you he’d end me. I also know you’re new to all this so I’m prepared to cut you some slack. This time. But if you ever call me Count Dracula again you’ll get a front row seat as to what a vampire is truly capable of. Am I making myself clear enough?” 

Alec swallowed and nodded. Raphael gave him a rather vulpine grin before he released his arm and got back into the car.  
Alec could feel his normal body temperature returning as he joined Magnus. He frowned at him as he saw a rather amused look spread over his face.

“What?”

“Alexander, I’m sorry but I should really have warned you about upsetting a vampire. It’s never a good idea. Raphael can be a little touchy about certain things and silly mundane names for his kind is the biggest one. They’re deadly creatures, my love, and need to be treated with respect. But he’s right in saying that if he ever tried to hurt you, for whatever reason, I wouldn’t hesitate to destroy him. You mean more to me than my own life, my angel.”

Magnus pulled him close for a tender kiss, making the last of the cold vanish from Alec’s body.  
They climbed the stairs and reached his front door. Alec turned to his boyfriend as they entered the apartment.

“Next time, I’d appreciate a heads up about that sort of thing. I don’t want to end up as that guy’s lunch any time soon.” Magnus let a small laugh escape him.

“Duly noted, sweetie.” Alec frowned at him and took his face in his hands.

“Magnus, no. Not happening, okay?” Alec said, putting a quick hard kiss on his lips.

He tried to keep his gaze stern but the sight of Magnus’ fine featured face grinning back at him was too much and he felt the corners of his mouth curving into a smile. He didn’t think that there would ever be a time when he could be mad at his beautiful man for longer than two minutes. He let him go and then swatted his firm butt, making Magnus give a small yelp.

“Come on, magic man, let’s get dinner ready.”


	31. Chapter 31

Alec had really enjoyed preparing dinner with Magnus. After consulting the contents of the fridge, it was decided that steak and salad was on the menu. The two of them worked well together in Alec’s small kitchen, moving around each other to grab things from drawers or cupboards and using the cook top to fry the meat. In spite of Magnus telling him that he wasn’t a very accomplished cook, Alec found that he actually had pretty good culinary skills. While Alec cooked the steaks, Magnus made a tossed salad and a dressing to go with it. He put the ingredients in a empty jar and gave it a hard shake before taking the lid off it and dipping a spoon into it and offering it to him to taste. Alec’s taste buds tingled, registering the sweet but tangy taste of the oily mixture. 

“That’s really good. I thought your cooking skills only extended as far as PB and J sandwiches?” He said, catching Magnus’ waist and pulling him close. 

He looked back at Alec coyly.

“Well, I may have been underplaying it just a little. You can’t live for as long as I have and not pick up a few tricks in the kitchen. I do prefer Raph’s cooking though. He does a much better job than I do.”

“So, does he eat food as well or does he have to stick to his special liquid diet?” Alec asked. 

He figured it was okay to ask a few questions while he wasn’t around.

“No, he can’t eat normal food since he was turned. I think that was one of the hardest things that he had to get used to. Raphael was an apprentice chef when it happened to him and he loved cooking and tasting new dishes. Now he can never know how it feels when you bite into a crisp ripe apple and feel that sweet sharp taste or the way a spoonful of ice cream can instantly freeze your mouth and give you a headache. It took him a long time to accept what he was and how he had to live his life.” 

Alec could hear sadness in his voice. 

As much as the man creeped him out, if he thought about it, he couldn’t really blame him for being the way he was. Eating the same thing every day for all eternity, knowing that there was no alternative and on top of that knowing that what you did have to eat would probably be seen as disgusting by most people would be enough to make any body bad tempered and prickly.

“It must be torture for him to cook for you guys then.”

“Strangely not. I think Raph feels that at least still being able to cook gives him a way back to his old life. I have offered to do it occasionally but he rarely lets me. Says I’d mess up his kitchen.” 

Alec grabbed Magnus’ hips and pulled him close, kissing him soundly. He raised his head and ran the tip of his tongue over his lips, smiling.

“I don’t think there’s anything you or Raphael could cook that tastes better than you do.” Magnus grinned broadly, the smile reaching his eyes and making them sparkle under the bright lights of the kitchen.

“I think that’s the dressing your tasting.” He laughed.

“No, it’s you. I’d know that taste anywhere.” 

Alec didn’t think it was possible for someone to smile as wide as Magnus was without splitting their face in two but he was doing it. He lifted a hands and brought it up to his face, cupping his jaw and rubbing the pad of his thumb over a cheek bone.

“Your so beautiful I love you, babe.” He said softly, his face serious for the moment. Magnus joined his lips to his in a kiss that had Alec moaning and wanting to burst into flames.

“I love you too, Alexander, to the point where I have no idea how I lived my life without you in it before.” 

Alec tightened his grip on his boyfriend and pressed his body into his. Magnus’ head pressed into his neck and he could feel him planting soft kisses to his heated skin. A sizzle from the fry pan on the hot plates broke them out of their moment.

“Might be a good idea to remember not to kiss you while you’re cooking in future so we don’t end up with char grilled food.” Magnus joked as he left the warmth of Alec’s solid frame and he went back to finishing off the salad.  
After dinner, they curled up on the sofa together watching a movie on TV. At least that’s what it started out as. Alec lay fully stretched out with his head in Magnus’ lap who had his feet propped up on the coffee table. He was lazily running his fingers though Alec’s thick black hair. Alec looked up at him.

“I suppose this is all a bit too domestic for you.” He said. Magnus frowned.

“Are you kidding? I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a night with you.” Magnus could sense doubt in Alec.

“I just worry that I’ll never be enough for you. I mean, you’re a warlock for God’s sake with a vampire for a friend that defends the world from God only knows what else and I’m some stupid mechanic” Magnus frowned down at his and put his hands on either side of his face.

“Hey, listen to me, Alexander. Of all the words to describe you stupid and boring are not even on the list. You want to know what’s boring and stupid? Try having the same sort of conversation with someone nearly every day for the past two hundred years. I care for Raphael very much but vampires aren’t much in the way of conversationalists. They tend to like their own company. Hence my extensive book and movie collection. 

You’re the best thing that’s come into my life in more than that time. You’re something that I only thought I could have in my dreams, not my life.” 

Magnus bent his head and kissed Alec so tenderly and with so my feeling, he felt tears sting his eyes. Wow, could someone really love him that much?

“So, I don’t want to hear any more rubbish about you not being enough for me because you’re more than I have ever dreamed of being able to have, my angel. That pure light of yours warms my soul. The more time I spend with you the more I’m convinced that I wouldn’t be able to breath anymore if you weren’t part of my life. I’m just so grateful that even after knowing about it you still want to be with me.” 

Alec’s hands went to his face and covered them. Magnus gave a soft laugh and gently prised them away to see his cheeks damp and his eyes shining from tears.

“What did I tell you about hiding how you feel, young man? Never be afraid to show me what you’re feeling, although, there’s not much you can do to hide it anyway thanks to our special bond.” 

Alec could feel his face heating and he turned to bury it into the material of Magnus’ shirt. He felt his laughter but kept his face in the same place anyway.

“I know your blushing, handsome. You know what that does to me, don’t you?”   
Magnus turned his head so he was looking back at him.

“Just do me a favor? Never say all this sort of stuff to me around Jace? If he saw me crying like a big girl I’d never hear the end of it. I’m sure he thinks all we do is sit around talking about our feelings and crawling all over each other.” Magnus giggled.

“Ah, hello? Isn’t that what we are doing?” Alec’s eyes widen and he shook his head and started to laugh himself.

“Shit, you’re right, oh my God, it’s happening, I’m really going there.” Magnus brushed his lips to his, feeling the vibration from his laugh on his lips.

“I really don’t think that it’s such a bad place to be, Alexander. I’m willing to bet that you always had a sensitive side, you’ve just kept it buried all this time.”

“Hey, I had a rep to uphold. Big tough mechanic who liked talking about football and going out for beer with his friend on the weekend to chase girls.”

“I can only imagine what that Alec was like. So, how many girls did you actually catch?” Magnus was looking at him with amusement.

“Well, I mostly watched while Jace did the chancing and a lot of the catching as well and as for the football, well…. Nah, I’m not saying any more.” Magnus dug him in the ribs making him laugh again.

“No, you’re going to tell me what you were going to say, come on, tell me.” 

Alec was wriggling around on the sofa, giggling helplessly as his boyfriend tickled his ribs and up until then he had no idea that he was even ticklish there. Magnus shifted and straddled his body, determined to get an answer out of him. Alec got to the point he was laughing so much he couldn’t breathe any longer.

“Okay, okay, stop! I’ll tell you.” He said breathlessly. Magnus grabbed his hands and pushed them up above his head, his eyebrow raised, waiting for the answer.

“I only watched the football cause I like watching those big guys running around in those tight pants.” Magnus burst out laughing collapsing onto Alec’s chest.

“Oh my angel, you’re priceless but I don’t think you have a straight bone in your body and thank goodness for that. That would have been the worst kind of torture, seeing you and finding out you were straight.” 

“How did you know I wasn’t that night? I thought I was doing a pretty good job of acting like a tough guy.” Magnus kissed him again, his eyes holding Alec’s face captive.

“I’ve told you, handsome, everything you feel is written all over you, especially those beautiful big hazel eyes of yours. The second I locked eyes on you I could see you were interested in me.” Magnus was looking quite smug about it.

“Is that right? it could have been just indigestion” Magnus gave him a playful slap.

“Yes, nice try Mr Lightwood but you’re not fooling me. I know what I saw. It was love at first sight.” 

Alec stilled beneath him, bringing his hands up to hold Magnus’ face.

“Not quite, but close enough, I think” He said softly. He saw Magnus’ eyes start to get shiny.

“Oh damn, now you’ve got me doing it.” He whined and he joined his lips to his. 

They were still completely caught up in each other when Magnus’ phone rang in his pocket. He reluctantly raised himself from Alec and answered it.

“Raphael, is everything alright?” Alec pulled himself up from the sofa watching Magnus for any hint of trouble.

“Okay, thank you, my friend. Come back here, we may need you.” 

Magnus disconnected and put the phone on the coffee table. Alec could tell he wasn’t completely happy.

“Is Lydia alright? He didn’t do anything to her did he?”

“No, she’s fine. Home safe and sound but Raph told me that after he walked her to the door and she went inside Valentine didn’t look at all happy. I think she probably told him that we have the book. I’m worried that he’ll try to come after it.” 

“Good, we can kick his ass to the curb then once and for all.” Alec said.

“The trouble with that is I don’t want to have to have any sort of confrontation with him here. It’s too public. I’d be too worried about your neighbors seeing something. Let’s just hope he feels the same way.”

“But won't the protection spells keep him out?”

“I hope so. The problem is I lost track of Valentine years ago and I’m not sure about how much he has developed his abilities. I’ll always be the stronger warlock but he’s still dangerous.”

“I’ll take him out myself if he even thinks about trying to hurt you.” Alec said, angrily. Magnus gave his arm a squeeze.

“I’m sure you would, my love, but I don’t want to put you at risk either. Raphael and I will handle him.” Alec frowned.

“But I thought that’s what I’m supposed to do, protect you.” 

“You protect me by knowing if I’m in trouble and getting me out of harm’s way, hopefully. I’m afraid you’d be very ineffectual against a warlock, Alexander and I can’t let anything happen to you not now our bond has strengthened so much and my feelings for you have grown so deep.” 

Alec didn’t look happy about it but he supposed Magnus was right. 

He walked to the window and moved the curtain so he could see the street. He saw Magnus’ car pull up out the front and Raphael get out of it. He was about to turned back to Magnus when a cold feeling ran through him. Another car raced in behind the Jaguar at an alarming speed. Raphael spun around. Alec recognised it from the workshop. It was Valentine’s Audi.

“Magnus! Morgenstern, he’s just pulled up out the front!” he told him and he felt Magnus react. He reached for the book and thrust it into Alec’s arms.

“I want you to stay up here with this, he can’t get to it under any circumstances. Don’t come down here, I don’t care what you see, promise me Alexander.” Magnus told him, holding him by his biceps.

“I promise. Please be careful Magnus I don’t think I could live without you either.” Magnus gave him a quick kiss and he flew out the door.

Down in the dark foot path, Valentine had gotten out of the car and was walking around to face Raphael who was readying himself for any sign of an attack.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the little lap dog. Still guarding your master, I see.” Valentine said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Raphael bristled and flexed his hands, as he glowered back at him.

“I think you’ll find I’m more of a junk yard dog and Magnus isn’t my master he’s my friend. You need to turn around and leave before something bad happens to you.” He growled in a low deep voice.

“Is that so? Well I tell you what, you run along and tell your friend that he can hand over that book and that’s exactly what I’ll do but I don’t guarantee I won’t be back. I have a score to settle.”

“You’ll never get that close, Morgenstern. You’ll never get your hands on that book either.”

“Oh I will but first I’ll get my hands on you, then that mundane boy that Magnus is infatuated with then I’ll get to Magnus, then the book.” 

In a blink of an eye Raphael had moved the six feet that stood between him and Valentine. He rammed into him, forcing him backwards into the side of his car, his arm braced against his throat.

“It’ll never happen.” 

Valentine felt the chill of his touch rapidly spreading through him, chilling him to the bone in less than a minute. A pair of needle sharp white fangs bared menacingly inches from his neck. 

“I could drain you in a heartbeat, you piece of filth.” Raphael growled at him.

“Down, fido. You’ll never get that close.” 

A burst of red flame materialized from Valentine’s hand and he launched it at Raphael's mid-section between them. He went flying backwards and hit the ground three meters away with a thump. He was on his feet again in seconds, readying himself for another charge.

“You can’t kill what is already dead, Morgenstern. Haven’t you learned anything?” He growled, his fangs flashing.

“Anything can be killed, boy. You just have to know what weapon to use.” 

He snapped his fingers and a thick, stubby wooden stake appeared in his hand. Raphael balked a little at the sight of it and Valentine raised his hand, drew back his arm and threw it directly at him.  
A beam of light like an arc of red electricity sizzled through the air, hitting the piece of wood, making it burst into flames before it disappeared completely. Valentine’s head flew around and saw Magnus standing just through the front doors of the building.

“Well done, old friend. I see age hasn’t lessened your reflexes any.” 

“You don’t get to call me that any more Val. The friend I once knew no longer exists.”

“I could say the same about you, Bane. A friend doesn’t usually banish another friend to the back of beyond.”

“Huh, it that where you ended up, I must have been having a bad day. Next time it will be in a place where even the crows couldn’t find you.” 

“So, where is that book, Magnus? Don’t tell me you left it with that stupid mundane boy of yours.”

Magnus felt anger rising in him at a rapid rate. His eyes glowed back at the other man, the golden pupils like a pair of miniature spotlights in the dark of the night. Valentine gave him an oily grin.

“Hit a nerve did I Bane? Don’t tell me you actually have feelings for him? Do you ever learn? Love makes you weak.” He spat. 

Magnus raised both his hands and two long ropes of raw red energy arced from his palms at Valentine. Like a fiery red snake, they roped around his throat and his body pinning his arms tightly to his sides. Magnus raised his hands and the ropes of energy lifted Valentine off the ground and suspended him in the air. He cried out, his feet kicking at nothing but empty space. He writhed, trying to loosen his arms but it was no use.

“Still think I’m weak, Val? Anything I feel for Alexander only fuels my power, not lessen it. Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of Morgenstern and stay there. You’ll live longer.” 

Magnus moved his hands downwards rapidly, slamming Valentine’s solid frame hard onto the roof of the Audi. He cried out as the metal crumpled underneath him. Raphael was over by the car in a blur of movement. With one hand he grabbed Valentine by the arm and reefed him off the roof before forcing open the door with a sickening whine of tortured metal and jamming him inside behind the wheel. He slammed the door closed hard enough that the whole car rocked violently from side to side.

“Drive safely, Val. Don’t miss the exit back to Hell, I hear it’s real busy at this time of night.” Magnus called to him. 

Valentine glowered back at him, rubbing his neck where two livid red marks burnt into his skin on his neck. The cuffs of his suit jacket and shirt underneath flopped around his wrists where they had been burnt off his arms. Both of which had similar marks to his neck. The front of his shirt was slashed wide open as well.

“This isn’t over by a long shot. Tell your keeper I’m coming for that book. I won’t stop till I get it.”

Valentine growled out the window and Raphael lunged at him, making a threatening hissing noise. Valentine jerked back and Raphael gave a laugh smiling back and making sure his fangs where clearly visible. H started the car and pulled sharply out from the curb, only missing Raphael because of his lightening quick jerk sideways, and the car roared down the street and out of sight.


	32. Chapter 32

Upstairs in the apartment, Alec was plastered to the window. His heart was racing in his chest and his breath was coming I hard nervous gasps. He had nearly died when he had seen Valentine toss Raphael like a rag doll to the ground but his eyes had flown wide when he saw him get to his feet like nothing had happened. The speed at which he saw him move had dazzled him. 

He had felt his heart drop like a stone when he saw Magnus had reached them, terrified that he would be hurt. But he was still reeling over watching him use his power to stop that stake and bind Valentine’s large body, slamming it into his car like an angry child with a toy. How he was still alive he had no idea. He only began to breathe easier when he saw the black Audi flying up the street. He raced to the door, and pulled it open, desperately waiting for Magnus to come back. 

When he did, he saw a slow smile curve his lips and he dropped the book onto the coffee table with a loud smack and flew at him, wrapping his arms around his body and holding him so tight he could feel the muscles shaking from the pressure. Magnus held him as well with equal force, burying his face into the side of his neck. After several long minutes, Alec raised his head to take his face in his hands and took his mouth forcefully. He could feel Magnus relaxing his tensed body against him and his hands roamed over his back before they went up to the nape of his neck, holding him in place.

Raphael had come up behind them and wedged his way into the apartment and closed the door. Alec vaguely heard him make some kind of remark about giving the neighbors a floor show but he ignored it. The way he felt, he never wanted to let his lover out of his arms again. They had no idea how long they stood there locked together by both lips and arms but when they finally eased apart they were out of breath and so full of need that they had completely blocked everything around them and fingers flew to shirts, undoing buttons and pulling hems up in a furious search for warm skin. Raphael had folded himself into the corner of the sofa and gave them a stern look from under his eyelids.

“If you two don’t mind I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night.” He said.

Magnus and Alec haltered their hands at the sound of his voice and gave each other shy smiles. 

“Sorry, my friend. We got a little carried away.” Magnus said as he grabbed Alec’s hand and pulled him towards the sofa.

He sat down onto it, pulling Alec onto his lap and wrapping his arms securely around him. Alec leaned into his chest, one hand sliding into the opening of his shirt. He hummed as he felt the wonderful warm smooth skin beneath his palm and he put soft kisses along Magnus’ jaw.

“I’m alright, my angel, I wasn’t hurt, you know. He never got the chance.” Magnus said softly smiling but his eyes were closed and he was relishing the feel of Alec’s soft mouth on his skin.

“I know Babe but I nearly died when I saw you out there with him. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I could feel your anger so strongly though. It spiked through me like lance. What made you like it?” 

“He said something about you. Hearing him talk about you made me feel sick with anger. He had no right to mention you at all.” Magnus told him as he ran a finger slowly up and down the side of Alec’s face.

“I felt so useless up here when you were both down there with that piece of shit. He’ll be back, won’t he?” Alec said, lifting his head up to look back at Magnus.

He gave a sad sigh.

“I’m afraid so, my love. He won’t give up that easy, I’m afraid. I have no idea how long he’ll stay away for, licking his wounds but we have to put some strategy’s in place because next time he’ll come at us full force.” 

“I’m not leaving you, Magnus. I don’t care what you say. I want to be there with you.” Magnus kissed him lightly.

“As much as I wish I could make you go somewhere safe I think under the circumstances you being close to me where I can keep an eye on you is better. At least if I can see you and have you close I won’t be worrying about you as much as if you were somewhere I couldn’t get to in a hurry.”

“Good, I’m glad you see sense about that.” Alec gave a nod. Magnus smiled.

“Like I’d of had a chance in telling you to go somewhere else. I’m surprised you even stayed up here when I asked you to.” 

“You told me to protect the book, so that’s what I was doing.” 

“Alexander, I need to get you and that book back to my house. There’s too many things that could get in the way here and the wards around my place are a lot stronger than these. Plus I’d have access to my work room if I needed it. Do you think…………” Alec cut him off.

“I could leave work? Yes, of course I will. When do you want to leave?” 

“Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. I know how much you love your work and I hate asking you to miss it.” Alec put his brow onto Magnus’.

“I like my work but I love you, Magnus. I’d follow you to the end of the earth if I had to.” Magnus gave a small laugh.

“Luckily I don’t live there anymore and it’s only two hours away. Could you contact Pops tonight maybe?” 

“Sure, I’ll probably get the old goat out of bed but that’s okay.” Alec took his phone out of his pocket and left Magnus’ lap to call him. 

Alec had been right, he had woken Pops and he hadn’t been very pleased about it either but Alec told him that he had a family emergency and had to go out of town for a week. He grumbled but he accepted it and told him he hoped things went okay. Alec didn’t elaborate on what the ‘emergency’ was, thinking that keeping it as vague as possible was probably better. 

He was about to go back to Magnus when he thought of Jace. He could just leave and not tell him but it was going to be a bit trickier in his case because Jace knew his family. He didn’t want him calling Izzy in a big panic. Maybe a version of the truth was the best. He pressed his number.

“Hey man, what’s up?” Jace’s voice came through the phone.

“Not much but I just wanted to let you know I’m going back to Magnus’ with him and we’re going away together for a few days.” 

He scrunched his face up, waiting for the reply.

“Wow, okay, that’s all a bit sudden, isn’t it? Did something happen?”

“No, no nothing like that. It’s just well, things have been happening pretty quickly and we thought we just needed to spend some time together to slow it down a bit, you know?” There was a pause.

“Wouldn’t that be the opposite of what you should be doing? I mean, if you wanted to take things slower, wouldn’t being apart be better? A bit of breathing space, that sort of thing?” Shit, he had a point. Think quick, dopey.

“It’s more about the gay thing, really. I just want to be sure that it’s who I am and spending quality time with Magnus seems like the way to go to me. To us, really.”

Alec slapped a palm to his forehead and rolled his eyes. That would have to be the stupidest thing he’d ever said but luckily, Jace handed him a get out of jail free card for it.

“Yeah, nice try, Pal. You know who you are already, you just want to go someplace and jump each other’s bones for a week. I’ve seen you, you can’t keep your hands off each other. I get it. It’s like when you got a new toy for your birthday and that’s all you wanted to play with.” 

Alec wanted to burst out laughing but manage to choke it back, hiding it with a cough. Thank you Jace, you just saved my ass from total humiliation.

“You know me too well, bro. And you’re right, Magnus is pretty irresistible. I can’t really think straight around him anymore.” Jace gave a laugh.

“Buddy, I don’t think you’ve ever thought straight, if you were honest about it. Go and have your sex fest, that’s fine. Think of me slaving away back here, copping shit from Pops about how my boyfriend has abandoned me. Just keep in touch between orgasms, will ya? Let me know you haven’t died from sexual exhaustion?”

“Argh! Jace, you’re so nasty, but yes, I’ll try to. Talk to you soon.” Alec couldn’t help smiling to himself about his friend. Jace said goodbye and they disconnected. 

Magnus was getting his things together when Alec went to the bedroom to start packing his clothes.

“Everything okay?” He asked, him.

“Yeah, I had to tell Pops something different from Jace but I hope that won’t be a problem. Jace thinks we are going away for some kind of sex fest so if Pops says anything to him about a family emergency, I’m pretty certain Jace will think I told him that to cover up for the real reason. Well, what he thinks is the real reason.” 

Alec grabbed clothes and underwear from drawers and cupboards and shoved them into a duffel bag. 

Magnus was giving him a smirk.

“Maybe Jace has an idea, my love. I mean, after all, all work and no play makes for a very frustrated warlock.” 

He grabbed Alec around the waist and pulled him against him before kissing him soundly.

“I like the way you think, babe but if you don’t stop for now, we’ll still be here this time tomorrow.” Alec smiled against his mouth.

Magnus gave him a frustrated groan but let him go so he could finish packing.

 

It was just before one in the morning before they arrived at Magnus’ house. Alec had fallen asleep with his head in Magnus’ lap. Magnus’ had loved every second of the trip back home, despite the reason why they were going back. He watched his sleeping angel, gently running his fingertips through his hair, trailing them down the side of his face feeling the faint roughness of Alec’s heavy stubble. He traced the contours of his broad shoulders and biceps before sliding his palm over the ridges of his ribs. He grinned when Alec stirred and gave a faint snort of a laugh when he reached the last rib. His love was ticklish even in his sleep. He bent his head and put light kiss on his forehead before leaning his head back against the comfortable leather seat. He caught sight of Raphael’s eyes watching him in the rear-view mirror, the partition had been open for the journey.

“You really love him, don’t you?” Raphael said, softly. Magnus smiled back at him.

“I do, Raph, I really do. I’ve thought about it a lot in our brief times apart, trying to reason with myself, telling myself that I shouldn’t give so much to him, to hold some of it back. I’m in awe of the way Alexander has handle this whole thing and I’m not just talking about Valentine and knowing who and what we are.”

He gave a heavy sigh.

“This poor beautiful boy has been holding himself back practically his entire life, from his best friend, his family, even himself. It must have been exhausting trying to deny his true feelings for so long. That first time I locked eyes with him, I could see it and I felt those repressed feelings start to trickle over the edge. It was very special to witness something like that. I was prepared to bide my time, give him the time he needed to come to terms with how he felt but that day in the garden it got too much to be so close to him and I had to kiss him.” 

Magnus looked absently out the window at the dark night flashing by. Clouds were obstructing the stars. He smiled to himself as he remembered that day.

“I think I would have been able to control myself from touching him any further if it hadn’t been for that rain and seeing him in front of me, dripping wet and clothes clinging to his body. I couldn’t help myself and when I looked at him and saw the way he was looking back at me it was like the trickle became a dam burst and I was powerless to stop it. From then on, it’s been a whirlwind of emotion. I’ve lived all these centuries and I realised that before I met Alexander I only thought I knew what true love was. Now I’m positive I know and it blows my mind every time I think about it. 

If it affects me so much and I’ve had practically centuries of experience how this angel can accept the way he feels about me in such a short space of time as well as everything else and not run away screaming I have no idea but I’m so grateful that he does.” 

Magnus smiled back down at Alec, smoothing back a few strands of his hair from the side of his face.

“I’m happy for you, my friend. I’m very glad you’ve finally found what you’ve always wanted.”

“It’s more than I ever thought I could have, Raph. I just wish you could feel the same way for someone.” 

“I made my peace with myself about what I am and how I feel about matters of the heart a long time ago, Magnus. Don’t waste your time worrying about it.”

“I need you to promise me you will protect Alexander as you would me if you have to, Raphael. I can’t lose him under any circumstances, it would kill me.” 

Magnus looked back at him through the mirror.

“Of course, my friend. I will do anything I can to make sure he stays safe. You can be sure of it.”

“Thank you, Raph. That gives me some peace because I have no idea what Valentine will try but I know it won’t be good.”

They pulled up out the front of the house and Magnus wouldn’t let Raphael get out from the car until he was sure that all the safety wards were in place and still untouched. Once he was sure that no one had been there in their absence, Raphael got out of the car and got their bags from the trunk before going inside and turning on the lights.

Magnus hated disturbing Alec. He looked so peaceful and so beautiful laying there but he had to get him inside. 

“Alexander, hey, we’re here. It’s time to go inside.” He said softly, rubbing his arm. Alec didn’t move.

“Hey, sleeping beauty, time to wake up.” 

Magnus raised his voice a little more and Alec moved his head against his legs, his cheek rubbing against the soft material of his pants but he still didn’t wake. Magnus gave a soft laugh and then had an idea.

“Since being in love with you feels like a fairy tale to me, anyway, let’s see if there really is a basis for truth in them.” 

He bent his head and put his lips gently to Alec’s. he felt that instant warmth that filled him each time he touched his mouth with his. For a second Magnus thought that he had let his imagination and emotions get the better of him with his theory but then he felt Alec responding to him. His hands came up to touch his cheek, his thumb moving back and forth on the delicate skin beneath his eye. Magnus couldn’t help but to deepen the kiss and he heard Alec take in a breath, turning his body to face him. He smiled when he felt Alec give his bottom lip a playful nip. He slowly raised his head.

“Hey, angel, are you ready to go inside now?” magnus asked, running a fingertip over the bridge and to the tip of Alec’s nose.

“Only if we have to. I kinda like it here, though.” 

He gave him a heavy lidded smile. Magnus thought he’d his chest was going to explode from how much he loved this man.

“You need to go to bed and get some proper sleep. So do I, come to think of it.” 

Alec sat up with a groan, stretching out his back. He opened the car door and stood in the cool air of the early morning. Magnus followed him out and when he left the car, he came up behind him and enveloped him in his arms, his chin resting on his shoulder. Alec smiled and put his hand up to hold the back of his neck.

“I owe you a thank you, by the way.” Magnus said to him, turning his head and putting light kiss on the shell of his ear. Alec frowned.

“Why? What for?”

“Oh it was just a theory I had about something and you confirmed it for me.” 

Alec turned in his arms, giving him a confused look.

“Are you sure you weren’t asleep with me in there and just dreamed all this?” 

Magnus smiled at him and kissed him, adding to his confusion. 

“I don’t need to dream, Alexander. I’m living mine right now, here with you. When you were in the car and I was trying to wake you, I thought of the fairy tale of sleeping Beauty and thought about how true love’s kiss woke her up. That’s how I woke you. Seems good old Prince Phillip was on to something.” 

Alec could feel that all too familiar sudden rise in the temperature of his face. He shook his head, smiling bashfully at his boyfriend.

“Geez, Babe. Here I was thinking I was getting too mushy. And the award for the biggest love sick warlock goes to….” Magnus laughed and kissed him hard. 

Alec pulled back suddenly, frowning.

“Hang on, you just didn’t call me a girl, did you?” 

“Of course not, princess, I wouldn’t dream of it.” 

Magnus smirked. Alec’s eyes went wide and he dug his fingers into Magnus’ sides making him jerk backwards, giggling.

“If you two would like to come inside and finish your game of patty cake, I made tea.”   
Raphael stood at the front door, arms crossed over his chest. Alec let Magnus go, clearing his throat and straightening his shoulders. Magnus gave him a sideways look and snorted.

“Don’t even bother trying to be Mr tough guy, it’s not going to work.” He said, grabbing his hand and intertwining his fingers with his. 

“Just so long as you know you’ll never get me anywhere near a pair of glass slippers.” 

“Baby, that was Cinderella. First rule of being part of my world, know your fairy tales.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Alec suddenly had visions of Magnus sitting him down and making him watch a pile of Disney movies. Magnus felt his thoughts and laughed.

“I was only kidding, Alexander. Don’t worry. I don’t need stories when I’ve got my happily ever after right here.” Alec rolled his eyes.

“Will you stop with the schmaltzy love stuff, already?” he groaned as they entered the house.

“Never.”

“Good, cause I love it.” Alec grinned and kissed him loudly on the cheek.

“I may need a bucket.” Raphael said under his breath as he followed them into the living room.


	33. Chapter 33

After sleeping late the next morning and having what was more a brunch than breakfast, Magnus showed Alec into his office which was off the entrance way. It was a large room with two of the walls once more covered in large shelves. These ones, however, didn’t just contain books but a variety of different objects ranging from china jars to figurines to glassware. 

Two large portraits hung on the other walls that weren’t occupied by shelves or the windows.  
One had to be Magnus. He was dressed in similar clothes to the portrait in the dining room. The other was of a young woman with dark hair and clothes that looked like they were a traditional native dress for a warm climate. She had been painted in a garden, the background was filled with many different shades of green leafy plants and bright colored blooms. She looked very relaxed and happy. Alec frowned at the painting, there was something that seemed familiar about the woman’s face. The way she held her head and the slope of her large dark eyes and her coffee colored skin.

“Do you like her?” Magnus asked, coming up to stand beside him and leaning his head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, she’s beautiful. It’s weird but there’s something familiar about her for some reason.” Alec replied and he looked back to Magnus, seeing a similar serene smile on his face. Then he got it.

“Babe, is this your mother?” He asked. 

Magnus lifted his head from his shoulder and looked at the painting lovingly. Now Alec could see how alike they really were. Their eyes were identical and the soft hue of their skin as well.

“I had this painted from a small drawing I had of her. I gave the artist a few directions about clothes and colors and this is what he came up with. This is how I remember her from my childhood, before she realised what my eyes meant. She was so happy and relaxed.” 

“It’s a lovely image to have of her. There’s something very personal about a painting. They seem to capture something a photo doesn’t. At least now I know where you get your good looks from.” Alec said, pulling him close. 

Magnus joined his lips to his in a warm, tender kiss. His chest felt full of happiness and love for this man. Standing here in front of his mother’s portrait, this was almost like he had brought him home to meet her and in a way, he supposed, he had. It was yet another first for him. Then again, there had never been anyone he had felt so deeply about before. No one he had trusted enough to take that far into his life.  
They were still standing there, lost in each other, when the door opened and Raphael came in. He gave the two of them a bored look before sitting on the settee that stood under the windows which were heavily draped.

“If I had known there was going to be a show, I’d have brought popcorn.” He said, irritably, balancing an ankle on his other knee and leaning his elbow on his thigh, his chin resting in his hand.

“I thought you couldn’t eat popcorn.” Alec said, after breaking his kiss with Magnus. 

He could see those dark eyes of Raphael’s flash with annoyance.

“You know, I’ve always wondered what angel blood tasted like.” He said in his deep, smooth tone. 

He took his head from his hand and smiled back with a sinister looking grin, the tips of those white fangs sitting on his bottom lip. Alec felt a prickle of fear run through him, making him instantly regret saying something smart. Magnus frowned at both of them.

“Now, now, gentlemen, you need to calm things down. We are going to have to rely on each other over the coming days. If Valentine senses any sort of discord between us, he’ll be sure to exploit it. We need to talk about what he might come at us with so we can prepare for anything.” 

“I want to be able to help too, Magnus. I don’t want you locking me up somewhere out of the way.”

“If only that was an option.” Raphael said, under his breath but it was loud enough for both Alec and Magnus to hear. 

“Haven’t you got a crypt to clean or something?” 

The words were out of Alec’s mouth before he could stop them. Vampire or not, he wasn’t going to let him get the better of him. In the time that it took to take his next breath, Alec found himself practically nose to nose with a pissed off vampire. He felt that icy cold moving through him again but his eyes blazed at him. Alec didn’t know whether he would burst into flames or die of frost bite. Magnus made a noise like an angry growl and pried Raphael away from his boyfriend. This was not helping anything.

“Raphael! Go back and sit down and Alexander, hold your tongue please. Remember what I told you. If this keeps up we may as well tell Valentine to just come and get the book and be done with it. I refuse to be in the middle of some petty custody battle. I’m pretty sure there’s more than enough of me to go around.” 

“I’ve never been good with sharing.” Alec mumbled under his breath, shooting Raphael an angry look.

“And I’m thinking of developing bad impulse control.” Raphael snarled, arms crossed over his chest defiantly.

Alec gave a surprised looked back at him.

“How the hell….” 

“It’s called vamp hearing, Alexander and you would do well to remember that Raphael has it plus very good eyesight. Vampires miss nothing. Which hopefully will come in handy for whatever Valentine has in store.” Magnus told him.

The next couple of hours was spent discussing the possibilities of Valentine’s attack. Magnus was certain that he was try to outnumber them wither either demons or other warlocks that he had manage to brainwash into helping him. It was decided that he would set up a protection charm in two different widths around the house so if one was breached the other would slow them down if not stop them. He also told Raphael and Alec he would put as strong a charm on them both as he could to help keep them safe. Raphael sounded quite indignant about it, saying he wouldn’t need it that he was too fast for anything Valentine could come at him with.

“You may think that, Raph but look what happened out the front of Alec’s apartment. If I hadn’t been there you may not be here now.” Magnus reminded him.

“You just got there first, I was just about to move out of the way when you stopped the stake. I can take care of myself.” He sniffed and frowned back at him.

“Just to be on the safe side, I intend to do that protection charm. I know you what you’re capable of, but just humour your old friend, please?” Magnus asked, his face questioning Raphael. The vampire gave a resigned look and a quick nod of his head.

“So, what can I do in all this? There’s got to be something.” Alec asked. 

It frustrated him that he didn’t have the skills that the other two did. Surely Magnus could use his magic to give him some help in that department. As always, Magnus felt his unrest and came back to him and took his hands in his.

“Your bond to me will help a lot, my love. Just knowing that someone can sense any imminent danger will give us precious reaction time. It’ll allow us to appear to be that small step ahead, like we can anticipate his moves.” 

The words appeased Alec a little but he still wanted to be able to fight alongside them.

“Isn’t there some kind of weapon I could use against him or whatever tries to come at us? I don’t want to be standing there next to you and not be able to defend you.” Magnus gave a sigh and shook his head.

“Alexander, don’t you realize how much it pains me that I have to drag you into this at all? The only reason I’ve agreed to keep you close is because I couldn’t bare it if you were somewhere I couldn’t get to you in a hurry if that monster tried to get to you. I don’t want to give him any more excuses to try to hurt you and if you had a weapon he would definitely consider that a threat.” 

“I know all that, Babe, but surely you’re not gonna leave me standing there in the middle of a fight without anything to defend myself or you two with? Wouldn’t that make me a bigger target? You’re not gonna be able to be everywhere at once, especially if he brings help.” 

“I hate to say it, Magnus but pretty boy has a point. Maybe he would be better to have something. If he can handle it, that is.” Raphael said, a sly looking grin on his lips. 

Alec looked back at him in confusion. Did he just really call him that? Shit, one minute he’s insulting him and acting like a jealous ex-lover, then he was calling him some cute name and sticking up for him. it had him wondering if all vampires were so hot and cold or if it was just Raphael himself. He noticed the reproving look that Magnus gave him and he had a very immature urge to poke his tongue out at him like a little kid. But he managed to keep his thoughts to himself. Well, from Raphael, at least. The second he looked at his boyfriend he knew he had sensed what he was thinking. 

Magnus creased his brow slightly and waggled a finger at him in a “tsk, tsk” motion. Alec did his best impersonation of puppy eyes at him and he saw the grin spread to his face. Magnus leaned in and kissed him briefly. 

“Oh my angel, how can I resist that face? As much as it irks me to do it, maybe Raph is right. At least you wouldn’t be totally defenseless. I have something that I acquired years ago that may be just what is required. I have no idea if it will work of if the stories about it are true but we’ll soon see, I suppose. I’ll go and get it from my work room.” He kissed him quickly again and left the office. 

Alec felt slightly on edge, being in the room alone with Raphael. It was like being in the presence of a dangerous animal. You just never knew what they were going to do next. He half wished that his bond with magnus could somehow allow his to have an insight into Raphael as well. 

Suddenly, the man was right next to him. The only sound he had made was the soft shift of air. Alec jumped in surprise and even gasped. His first instinct was to put more space between them and he took a step back, only to hit the desk’s edge behind him, hard enough to hear the various things sitting on it rattle. He found himself looking directly into the vampire’s eyes, unable to pull away.  
Raphael closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, leaning in closer to him. Shit, what was he up to now?

“When Magnus was rattling off my credentials earlier, he forgot that I have a very acute sense of smell as well. It allows my kind to be able to hunt down our food source. Did you know that there are many different types of blood, that depending on what the creature is that they each have an unique scent? Human blood is the strongest, it has a very metallic sort of smell, like hot iron. Animal blood is different to that and it depends if they are carnivores or herbivores.” 

Alec could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. This was getting creepier by the second.

“Even Magnus has a particular scent. His powers make his blood smell like a mixture of burnt sugar and brimstone, thanks to his demon side. But you, you are truly something else. You’re just lucky I’m not a fledgling or you would of been dead the second you hit the door that first night.” 

Oh fuck, now he was really worried. Alec swallowed hard, any smart remarks were completely gone now. His eyes flew briefly to the door way. What the hell was taking Magnus so long? It was like he’d been left in a room with a snarling dog and he was circling him, trying to decide if he would attack or not.

“What’s… what’s a fledging?” He asked, trying desperately to keep the tremor out of his voice. 

All he could think of was to show as little fear as possible but it was pretty hard with someone this deadly only inches from his face and body.

“It’s a vampire that has just been turned. It’s when we are at our most dangerous and have very little impulse control especially over our need for blood. It’s how I met Magnus, actually. I had only been turned for a couple of days and I tried to attack him, that unique blood of his, drove me to distraction. He stopped me, of course, and even took me in and helped me to learn to control myself when my sire abandoned me.”

“Oh. That must have been rough.”

“Yes, it wasn’t easy, but if it hadn’t been for Magnus, I would have been a very different person to what I am today. In saying that, do you have any idea how damn good your blood smells to me? It’s almost irresistible. So sweet and pure. It must be the angel heritage you have. I know you think I don’t like you, Alec.” He said, his voice was smooth and soft. It’s tone almost hypnotic. Alec felt like he was being drawn in to him but he managed to keep himself from doing so.

“Well, I, I don’t…...” He stuttered, not knowing quite what to say.

He had been getting some very mixed signals from him and it was hard to say one way or the other what exactly he did think about it.

“I know I’ve been a little harsh, at times and I have come off sounding like I was jealous in some way. The truth is, I have been a little envious. Envious of Magnus and how he gets to be so close to you all the time and is able to take in that delicious scent of yours. You are very pretty to look at, Alec and that only adds to my feelings towards you.” 

The look of absolute shock on Alec’s face made Raphael give a laugh and he raised a cold pale finger tip to run down the side of his face, leaving him feel like someone had trickled ice water down his cheek. Alec was completely frozen to the spot. If Raphael decided to give in to his urges for his blood he was certain he would be unable to stop him.

“Have no fear, handsome boy, as much as I find you attractive and very hard to resist, I would never betray Magnus like that. I don’t feel attraction the same way as humans do anyway but you, you’re a whole different matter. If I didn’t know that Magnus was so in love with you, I wouldn’t be able to keep away from you. Don’t think that you must act a certain way around me. This isn’t your fault. Thanks to Magnus, I’m able to keep my distance and keep myself in check but if I come off sounding like a jilted school girl you at least you will know why. You’ll always be safe with me, Alec, I would never willing hurt Magnus. I owe him too much. I just wanted to set things straight between us, with everything going on I don’t want there to be misunderstandings. Do we have an understanding?”

He held out a hand to him.

Alec was finally able to break out of his hold he had on him and he nodded and took his hand. It was as cold as his finger tip had been. A chill ran through him and he couldn’t help the shiver that went through him. Raphael gave a small laugh and before he knew what was happening, the vampire had lifted his hand to his lips and put an icy kiss on his knuckles, taking in a deep breath as he did. 

Alec gave a yelp and pulled his hand back like it had been bitten. Fuck, had he actually done that? 

“Sorry, I had to afford myself a small slip. Don't worry, it won’t happen again.” Raphael gave him a sly smile and in a blur of movement he was back sitting on the settee, one leg folded over the other like he hadn’t moved a muscle.


	34. Chapter 34

Alec found his head spinning from everything. Had that even happened? Magnus came back into the room and the second he looked at him he could feel that he knew something had gone on in his absence. 

He felt the color rising in his face, afraid that he would be upset with him but he just gave him a slow smile and walked up to him, kissing him warmly before sliding his arm around his waist. He was leaning into his body, hard enough that Alec could feel his hip bone against his own. This was a display of ownership. Alec could feel it flowing from him and he tried not to grin from the fuzzy feeling he got from knowing that although Magnus was very controlled in how he handled himself, he wasn’t immune to basic feelings like jealousy. He liked the way knowing that the man he loved wasn’t beyond acting over protective with him and that he wasn’t angry with him, at least.

 

Alec looked down and saw that he carried a long wooden box in his other hand. Once Magnus had made his point, he let him go but made sure he was still touching him. He held the box up in both hands to Alec.

“This is what I was talking about. Take it, my love, I think it was meant for you all along.” 

Alec took the box from him and carefully lifted the lid.  
Inside sitting on a velvet pad, was a large dagger. Its handle looked silver and was engraved with a variety of ancient looking symbols. The blade itself what made out of what looked like cloudy glass. Alec wondered how a weapon so delicate looking could have survived for so long without breaking. It looked extremely old. He looked at Magnus and he gave a nod, letting him know that he could pick it up. He could feel him tensing beside him and he wondered if it was because he was worried that he would drop it and damage it.

Alec reached in and took the silver handle. The second his fingers made contact with the cool metal, it’s temperature changed to a warm glow. It was like he had triggered a switch on it somehow. His eyes went wide and he almost dropped it back into the box. He could feel excitement radiating through Magnus and even Raphael had risen to his feet and was watching intently. He held the blade out before him and put the box on the desk behind him. As they watched the opaque blade began to glow with a ethereal blue glow, almost like Magnus’ magical flame. Alec felt something spike through him as he looked at the weapon in amazement. What the hell did this mean and why had the dagger done that?

Magnus wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled his head down and kissed his cheek, neither of them taking their eyes from the glowing blade. Even Raphael looked stunned.

“Oh Alexander, if I didn’t know how truly special you were before I do now.” He said, still hugging his shoulders.

“what……..” Alec started to say but magnus cut him off.

“Remember when I told you about that legend that warlock told me about the Nephilim, about what you are? He also told me about a special type of weapon that they used. It’s called a seraph blade and each one is unique to its owner. They hold great power and can defeat the most evil of creatures. The blade itself is made of a substance called Adamis. It channels the divine power from the user into the blade. Anything with evil blood can be defeated with it, sent back to hell where it came from.”

Magnus shook his head in amazement.

“You mean, it glows because of me, because of the angel blood I’m supposed to have?” Alec asked, still not believing that what he was seeing was even possible. 

“Yes, my love, but not supposed to, you do have it otherwise that wouldn’t of just happened. I have owned this blade for over a hundred and fifty years. I tracked it down from a collector that had no idea what he had and paid a very large sum of money for it. The story that the warlock told me had always fascinated me and I suppose, if I was honest, I always held a secret hope that one day I might find one of these rare creatures and have my very own protector.”

Magnus looked up into Alec’s face.

“I never really thought I would be worthy of such a connection and I only half believed the story anyway. But it just never left me and I started searching for the existence of this weapon, if only to prove to myself that Nephilim really did exist at one time even if I’d never meet one. Then you came walking into my life, and everything changed. I love you, Alexander, and not just because of what you are it’s because of who you are as well.” 

He brought a hand up to his face and gently stroked his cheek. Alec turned his body and, still holding the glowing blade, put his arms around Magnus and kissed him.  
The silver handle touched against Magnus’ back in the slightest way but he suddenly arched away from it, giving a yelp of pain. Alec let him go immediately and looked back with concern. The blade stopped glowing and became cold once more. Raphael startled and rushed over to them.

“What happened? What did I do? Magnus! Are you okay?” Alec felt sick with worry over the pain he had felt go through his lover.

“I’m fine, Alexander. It was only a small jolt. You have to be careful with the blade, my angel. Because of what it is capable of when it’s activated, Raphael and myself can never touch it, even a little. We have demon blood, Alexander, even in small amounts, this weapon will sense it. Raph and I can’t be in its path or touch it in any way. You need to be mindful of that.” 

Alec put the dagger on the desk top before pulling Magnus to him. The last thing he ever wanted was to hurt his lover in any way even if it was only for a second. He heard Magnus chuckle against him.

“You don’t have to feel so guilty, baby, I’m not that indestructible.” He said, then put his mouth right up to his ear.

“I know one weapon you have that you can touch me with anytime you like.” He whispered and Alec felt the warm wet tip of his tongue trace around the curve of his ear. 

He grinned and felt the crotch of his jeans getting tighter. 

“I love how you react to me. It’s like being in control of a weapon of mass destruction, so much power under my hands and knowing it has a hair trigger.” He purred close to him, making Alec broaden his grin so his face hurt and his crotch tighten again. 

The giggle escaped him before he could stop himself.   
Raphael rolled his eyes and turned his back, heading to the door.

“Oh, please. If anyone wants me, I’ll be in my room trying to erase that conversation from my mind.” He said, losing patience with the two of them.

When he had been gone for at least five minutes, Magnus pulled back from Alec. 

“Raphael told you how he feels about you, didn’t he?” Magnus said, looking deeply into his eyes.

Oh shit, was he going to be upset with him after all? Or with Raphael? Alec was too concerned about upsetting Magnus to try to read his feelings. He opened his mouth to start to try to explain what had happened but Magnus held his face and kissed him softly.

“It’s alright, my love. I know you didn’t do anything to encourage him. I’ve known that Raph has been interested in you since that first night you came here but I also knew that he wouldn’t act on his feelings. Raph is a very complex being, Alexander. While he might feel an attraction to someone he would never let it go any further. It would be too difficult for him to have deep feelings for someone and risk being out of control with them and hurting them or worse.” 

“I just thought he didn’t like me.” Alec said, relieved that Magnus was aware of it and there wouldn’t be anything awkward between them. 

“He likes you too much, I think, but it’s not just that. It’s your blood that is the hardest to resist for him. And it doesn’t help that you are as cute as hell either.” 

Alec felt his face heat. Magnus groaned and flung himself at his face, his lips crashing down on him with force. Every inch of him was under Magnus’ control and the warlock knew it. It didn’t take long for their kisses to run away with them and the only thing that forced them apart was the need to catch their breath. Alec was in the process of undoing the buttons of Magnus’ shirt while nibbling the skin of his neck when a louder than necessary knock came from the door. He pulled back, eyes shiny and heavy lidded. 

“Dinner is ready, shall I start to serve or do I need to keep it for lunch tomorrow maybe?”

Raphael’s voice sounded from behind the door. Alec was tempted to say something about try dinner tomorrow night but thought better of it.

“Thanks, Raph we’ll be there in a moment.” Magnus called, but his eyes never left Alec’s face.

“A minute? What do we need a minute for?” Alec asked. 

Magnus gave him a very dirty smirk and he held up a hand and clicked his fingers. In an instant, Alec found himself without his shirt, the cool air of the room making goose pimples come up on his skin. 

“Aww, are you cold my angel? Let me warm you up.”


	35. Chapter 35

He let his hands slide up from his waist to the broad expanse of his back and he bent forward and started mouthing his way across his chest his tongue paying special attention to each deep pink nipple. Alec moaned and his hands held his head against his skin, carding through the styled top of his hair. Magnus kept working his way down covering as much surface as he could before hitting the waistband of his jeans. Another click of his fingers and the button and zipper were undone.

Alec swallowed hard, watching his lover’s every move. Magnus slowly sunk to his knees and then hooked his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans giving them a hard yank. Alec swayed slightly as they stuck mid-thigh. His throbbing length springing free before him. He felt his face color, and his first instincts were still to cover himself even though Magnus was well acquainted with his body by now. His hands hand gone to move but Magnus took them and shook his head. He pulled them behind his back so they rested on the bare cheeks of his butt.

“No, baby, hold them there,” 

he crooned and he took hold of his hard erection and took him into his mouth. Alec felt his legs wanting to give way and he took in a sharp breath, his head going back and his eyes closing. Fuck! This was so intense. His hands had come back around to hold Magnus’ head but Magnus reached up and pulled them away, taking his mouth from him with a soft pop. Just the sound made him nearly come.

“What did I say about those hands?” Magnus said, in a mock sternness. 

Alec put his hands behind him once more and this time, found the edge of the desk and gripped it hard.

“Much better.” 

Magnus smoothed and he took him into his mouth once more, working up and down his full length. Each time he pulled back, he applied extra pressure and Alec began to whimper, the muscles of his thigh tensing for what he knew was coming rapidly. Magnus pulled his head right back to take just his tip in to his mouth before he moved forward once more, going his full length, his forehead touching the downy hair of his lower stomach. 

Alec cried out and gripped the edge of the desk hard enough that he didn’t know if his fingers would break first or the wooden edge. Magnus only got half way back up before Alec lost control and with an anguished yell felt himself shooting into the back of Magnus’ throat. He thrust his hips forwards with each pulse, his breath coming from him in deep ragged pants. 

Magnus rode each wave with him, not letting him go until he felt him still. He slid from his lips with a wet plop and slowly rose back up, grabbing hold of Alec’s jeans and underwear as he went to hoist them back up. He snapped his fingers and Alec felt them fasten around his waist again. He was still getting his breathing in order as He felt Magnus lips on his neck, planting soft kisses on his heated skin. His warm hands spreading over the soft hair of his chest. Alec felt blissfully boneless and wonder how the hell he was still standing.

“I love you so much” he drawled, his voice deep with from his pleasure. 

He finally let go of the edge of the table and rapped a pair of heavy arms loosely around his boyfriend.

“I love you too, honeybun.” Magnus said, softly, smiling back at him.

Alec shook his head and kissed him.

“Yeah, nice try, but no, Babe.” Alec replied, resting his head on Magnus’ brow and rubbing the tip of his nose against his.

“Well, it was worth a try. I think I’d better give you back your shirt and go in for dinner before Raph loses patience completely and throws everything out.” 

He gave a click and Alec felt his shirt back against his skin. Before they left the office, he picked up the dagger and put in back in its box, leaving it on the desk.  
When they entered the dining room, Raphael was sitting on one side of the table, his fingers drumming on the top.

“Another minute and you would have been having one of Magnus’ PB and J sandwiches for dinner.” He said in his deep monotone voice. His dark eyes glaring back at them.

“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had one of those for dinner.” Alec said, smiling at Magnus as they as down and reached across the table to take each other’s hand. 

Raphael gave an exaggerated groan and rolled his eyes. He took the lid from one of the serving dishes and looked back at them, eyebrows raised.

“So, will I serve or have you already eaten?” 

Alec’s eyes went wide, first looking at Raphael and then back to Magnus who was trying to fight off a smirk from his face and losing badly. Feeling the color rise in his already flushed face wasn’t helping Alec either. Magnus was looking at him with more hunger in his eyes than for what was on the table.   
Raphael feigned complete boredom by the whole thing and rolled his eyes in a “Oh please” kind of way but Alec felt a slight prickle when he saw something else flash very quickly in the vampire’s dark brown eyes. 

He suddenly became very interested in what was in the dishes on the table and started helping himself to the food. He missed the quick reproachful look that Magnus gave Raphael. His eyes had only lighted on his for a matter of seconds but it was enough to convey a strong warning of “watch it” to him.   
After dinner, Alec took Magnus’ hand and started for the stairs to head for bed but just before he reached the first step, Magnus stopped.

“You go on up, my love, I need to get that weapon of yours and put it somewhere safe.” He said, smiling and giving his hand a squeeze. 

Alec bent his head and kissed him softly then started up to the bedroom.  
Magnus turned back for his office and went in, picking the box up from the desk. He couldn’t help smiling to himself, thinking about the wondrous sight of his man, holding that glowing blade in his hands. It was the realization of a dream for him and the best part was, Alec was all his. But there was something that niggled at the very edge of his mind though and he knew as much as he hated to admit it, if he didn’t act on it, it would grow in his thoughts like a weed in his rose garden. He took in a deep breath and headed for the door almost running into Raphael as he was coming silently into the room from the entrance way. They stood facing each other in the dark space, the only light coming from the still lit office. 

“Sorry, I saw the light still on and was coming in to turn it off.” Raphael told him, his lips just curved enough to look friendly.

He went to move passed Magnus but he put out a hand and laid it on the cool arm of his jacket. Raphael stilled, still looking towards the office door way.

“You know how much our friendship means to me, Raph, and there are very few things that I could ever think that would change that. I would never abandon you, my friend, no matter what you did.” He said softly to him. 

Raphael looked down to his feet at first and then slowly back to face Magnus.

“I know that, Magnus. I appreciate everything you have done for me, I owe you my life.” 

“You owe me nothing Raph but I’m also aware of how you feel about Alexander.” Raphael searched the other man’s face, trying to gauge how he felt about what he had just said.

“I would never………” He started. Magnus held up a finger, silencing him.

“I know that too but just be aware that if you ever act on those feelings, even in a small way ever again, I will be forced to end our friendship, however much it pains me. I love that man with my whole soul, Raphael, something I never hoped to achieve and something that I will fight to the death to keep. That includes you as well.” 

If it was possible for a vampire to get any paler, it happened in that moment. He knew that Magnus wasn’t playing any games with him and he meant every word. Raphael had rarely been afraid of anyone or anything since being turned over two hundred years previously but he felt the icy fingers of fear gripping the back of his neck as he looked into Magnus’ eyes. He straightened his shoulders before he answered.

“Please forgive me for my small slip, Magnus I should of guessed that Alec would of said something to you about it. It may take me a couple of days to reign in my desire for the man’s pure blood but I will master any urges I have for it, I can assure you. I’ve done it before and I will again.” he said, looking back at his friend. 

Magnus gave his arm a squeeze and he smiled.

“I have no doubt that you will, old friend. I have every faith in you. And just for the record, Alexander didn’t say anything to me, he didn’t have to. Our bond is very strong, Raphael, I can pick up even the smallest of fluctuations in his moods as well as hearing his thoughts. I don’t ever want to hear what I did earlier this evening or feel it again.”

“You won’t, I promise you.” 

“I know. Good night, my friend.” Magnus let his arm go and headed for the stair case. 

If Raphael was still capable of breathing, it would have been then that he would of let out a relieved lung full of air. 

That night, after he and Magnus had finished sharing each other’s bodies, Alec had fallen asleep with his head on Magnus’ firm shoulder. One arm was draped over his chest and his leg rested over his. Magnus had turned on his side, his own arm over Alec’s ribs and his legs tangled with his. One hand fanned out over the skin of his back and he had pulled him as close to his body as he could get. Alec had closed his eyes with a satisfied smile on his face that he hadn’t lost even in his sleep. He had felt blissfully heavy limbed and sated and his last thoughts had been how much love he could both see and feel pouring out from his man as he cocooned him in his arms and distractedly played with the back of his hair. 

So it was a complete surprise to have the dream he had. He had no idea where it had taken place, the scenery was completely foreign to him. It was almost like a field of dried grass but the sky above him was roiling and black, bright flashes of lightning forking through the tumultuous clouds. Alec had never felt so much fear in his life. There was a wind blowing wildly around him as well, strong enough that it was making him lurch forward with each gust. But it wasn’t like any sort of wind he’d ever experienced before. It stank. The strong acrid smell felt like it was burning the inside of his nose and throat with each intake of it into his body. It was almost chocking him. His eyes were squinted almost closed against the howling gale and he could feel tears streaming down his cheeks from both the stench and the dry air.

He tried to look into the distance and he saw a figure standing several feet away from him. He started forward to see who it was but he only got a dozen steps when he stopped. The fear factor ramped up another notch when he realized it was Valentine. He stood with his hands raised above his head, towards the terrible sky. His face was pointed up and he was talking but the roaring wind was taking the sound before Alec could make out what he was saying. He was going to edge forward to try to catch his words but something told him to stay where he was. 

As he watched, red ropes of energy shot from Valentine’s hands, similar to what he had witnessed out the front of his apartment the previous night. The sparking streaks arced up into the boiling blackness of the sky and seemed to rip a gap in the clouds. Alec watched in horror as balls of light that looked like blazing meteors, fell from the rent in the clouds. Each one started to morph into large misshapen forms before finally culminating into the worst looking monsters that he had ever thought possible. 

Their eyes blazed red and their open jagged mouths did as well. Alec was shaking from head to foot at the sight of the huge creatures and he found himself wanting to sink to the ground and curl into the tightest ball his could get his six foot three-inch frame to form. He had never experienced such outright terror before and the cry that ripped from his lungs felt like it was coming from his very core.

The next thing he became aware of was Magnus clutching him tightly to his warm body, rocking him slightly as they sat in their bed. He was drenched in sweat and his throat felt raw. His breathing was shallow and erratic. He was clinging to Magnus as if he was afraid that at any moment he would suddenly disappear.   
As seconds slowly passed, he started to become more aware of where he was and what was happening. He could feel the soothing warmth of Magnus’ light coffee colored skin under his damp cheek and chest. He felt familiar fingers stroking his damp hair back from his brow and he could here Magnus’ deep calming voice saying “Ssshh, Ssshh,” over and over. He felt a pair of warm lips on his heated face, working their way down from his forehead to his cheek and final to his mouth where he tilted his face to receive them, gratefully. He drank in each kiss, feeling it calming him down.

The door to the bedroom flew open and Raphael stood in the doorway, looking about wildly. 

“What……..” He started to say but Magnus took his lips reluctantly from Alec’s to answer him. Alec whimpered like a small child and reached up to touch Magnus’ face and try to urge him back.

“It was a nightmare Raphael, a bad one. It’s alright, I have him. everything is alright, you can go back to bed.” Magnus said softly, his hand cradling Alec’s head against his chest.

Raphael gave a brief worried look to them before giving a short nod and pulling the door closed.

Magnus went back to giving Alec the soothing kisses he was craving. It was several more minutes before he felt his body relaxing against his and his breathing normalize. 

“Oh my poor baby, what could of upset you that badly, hummm?” Magnus asked him softly and they leaned back into the pillows behind them.

“I can’t talk about it yet, Magnus it’s still too raw to me. I’ve never felt so fucking scared in my entire life, it was beyond horrible.” Alec croaked, his throat still felt raw. 

Magnus gave a click of his fingers and a glass of cold water appeared in his hand and he gave it to Alec. He drained in in two gulps, feeling the cold liquid easing his throat. Magnus put the glass on the bedside table beside him and went back to holding him to him.

“I’m so sorry you had such a horrible dream, my love. When you woke up screaming like that I could feel the terror in you and it nearly killed me. I never want you to feel so scared ever again.” 

He held him even closer and felt Alec nuzzling his chest, his lightly stubbled jaw wonderfully rough on his skin. 

“Thank you for being here with me, Babe. I don’t know what would of happened if I had of woken up alone. I feel like an idiot, scaring you and Raphael like that. I don’t know how it happened.” 

Magnus sat up further against the head of the bed and took his face in his hands. His brow creased in a worried frown.

“I don’t ever want to hear you say that again, my angel, do you hear me? You can’t help having a nightmare any more than I could have one and I have woken up crying out in the night and found myself alone. I’m just so glad I was here for you. I love you, Alexander, always let that guide you back. I never want to leave you alone again.”

Alec smiled against his chest and kissed it’s firm surface. His words and the feel of his body next to his was like a balm for his raw nerves and he felt himself growing sleepy once more.

“I love you too, Babe. Don’t let me go.” He drawled as he started to drift back off. 

Magnus smiled and kissed the top of his head, burrowing his nose into his thick black hair.

“I never will, beautiful boy, you can count on that.” 

Magnus eased them both down further into the cool soft sheets and pulled the quilt up over them. He stayed that way, for the rest of the night, not closing his eyes once in case whatever terror had rocked his love before, came back. He had only brief glimpses of what had played out in Alec’s tormented mind but he knew it had been Valentine’s fault. He felt the hate rising in him and he knew that his demon mark eyes glowed fiercely in the dark room like a pair of golden beacons. It was yet another reason to want to be rid of the man. No one would ever upset the piece of his soul that that lay in his arms like that ever again. He would make sure of it.


	36. Chapter 36

Alec found himself waking up at his usual time, his body clock still thinking it was time to get ready for work. He sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes but Magnus pulled him back down to him. 

“Hey, handsome, you’re not going anywhere just yet. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while?” Magnus crooned to him and he happily laid back down, rubbing his rough cheek against his chest.

He felt Magnus flinching and he heard a chuckle. Alec looked up to him, smiling.

“What? Am I tickling you?” he said, smirking and scuffing his chin across his chest.

Magnus wriggled beneath him, giggling. Alec couldn’t help himself, he rubbed his stubbly face all over his chest, stomach and ribs and Magnus became helpless with laughter. Alec was laughing by then as well, feeling Magnus’ mirth filling him and banishing any dark areas left by the night before.   
He rose up in the bed before straddling his boyfriend’s hips and feeling the hard ridge of his erection under him. He shook his head.

“How the hell can you be so hard after being tickled like that? “ Alec laughed.

“I only have to be anywhere near you and it can happen, gorgeous, doesn’t matter where or when. I seem to have a hair trigger on that part of my anatomy where you’re concerned.” 

Magnus smiled back at him and tilted up into him making him suck in a deep breath. Alec had to admit that he felt the same way these days. He didn’t think he could every get enough of him.  
Magnus smirked and crooked a finger at him so he would lay forward onto his chest and stomach.

“I think our bond must be getting stronger cause I sure can read your mind right now.” Alec said as he went forward deliberately rubbing his chest slowly up his body, loving the way Magnus moved beneath him, his face held in blissful concentration. 

He had just clamped his mouth over his when a soft knock came to the door and it swung open, revealing Raphael carrying a loaded breakfast tray.   
Alec’s first instinct was to get off Magnus, but his hands shot out to hold him tight. Raphael deposited the tray on the dresser near the door.

“I thought you might want to take things slow this morning after last night. I’m glad to see there doesn’t seem to be any lasting effects. By the way, if you’re going for the reverse cowgirl position, I believe your facing the wrong direction.” Raphael informed them in that bland deep tone of his.

He left the room, closing the door behind him but not before he heard the fit of giggles following him out. 

“How the fuck does a vampire know about the reverse… you know what? I don’t want to know.” Alec said and he got off Magnus and went over to bring the tray back to the bed.

When he did he caught Magnus laying on his side, his head propped up in his hand. Those golden eyes were on full display as was a very broad grin.

“Now you just put those things away or there’s gonna be food and coffee all over this bed. What are you grinning at anyway?” Alec said as he sat down beside him reaching for the coffee pot.

“What do you think? You, of course. You have the cutest, snoochiest butt ever. I love it.” Alec gave him a disbelieving look. He could feel the blush on his skin and not just on his face.

“Are you serious, right now? Where do you come up with this stuff? Snoochiest? Is that even a word? I love you, Babe but you’re too much sometimes.” 

Alec felt himself being pulled backwards. He scrunched up his shoulder as he felt the irresistible feeling of Magnus’ goatee nuzzling into his neck. He laughed and tilted his head into the touch he loved so much. He couldn’t think of a better way to wake up after a night plagued with bad dreams.

“If it wasn’t a word before, it is now and I’m not too much I’m just enough and all yours. Oh and just to let you know, I know an even better way to wake up. I’d be happy to demonstrate it for you, if you want?” Magnus answered, nosing his way up to gently nip his ear lobe, making Alec hum in delight.

“You stay out of my head, warlock. It hardly seems fair that you can do that but I can’t. Although, you’re pretty easy to read when it comes to certain things.” 

Alec pulled himself back up but ran a fingertip down the bridge of his small nose and gave the tip a poke. Magnus smiled and pulled himself up, coming in behind him and spreading his legs either side of his body so his chest was flat up against Alec’s broad back. Alec relaxed back against him, after picking up a half a bagel and biting into it. He offered it to Magnus over his shoulder and he leaned forward taking a bite himself.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Alec asked, around his mouth full of breakfast.

“I need to get those extra protection charms in place and strengthen the ones on the house as much as I can. You and Raph need to be covered as well.” 

Magnus told him, as he gently brushed his goatee against the side of his face, making Alec smile and lean into his touch.

“God, I love the feel of you on my skin, especially my face.” Alec crooned, his eyes closed as he gave into the sweet tickling sensation. 

Even though he wasn’t watching him, he knew Magnus was grinning and he made that deep purring noise in the back of his throat. Alec felt a shiver run through him. Fuck, what that sound did to him was unreal. He lifted the hand that didn’t have the bagel in it and held the back of Magnus’ head, loving the feel of the extremely short hair under his fingers. Magnus slid his hands over the contoured muscle of his torso. Each fingertip tracing every rise and fall of his body. He mouthed at his jaw, Alec nearly melting against him from the sensation of his touch and he warm breath against his skin.

“You are so beautiful, Alexander. I will never get enough of your body, it’s an endless fascination for me. How I can feel that raw hard muscle beneath your soft skin drives me crazy. I don’t know how I deserve to be so lucky to have you all to myself.” He told him, and he held him tightly against his own body.

Alec couldn’t help the shy smile that curved his lips.   
It still amazed him that someone could find him that interesting. Jace had always told him he was a killer in the looks department but coming from his best friend, with whom he’d had a big guilt ridden crush on, it didn’t have much of an effect. But when Magnus said those things, it hit him straight in the groin. 

“You want me, don’t you?” Magnus deep velvet toned voice whispered in his ear. Alec’s voice failed him in that moment and he felt his insides liquifying with flowing heat. 

“Hummm” 

was the only sound he could make at that point and he threw the rest of his bagel onto the tray and turned so he was able to cover Magnus’ tanned skin with his pale one. He pushed them back onto the bed, his mouth claiming his, his tongue exploring his mouth in brief, wet visits. Magnus brought his legs up to lock his ankles around his waist, grinding his hard arousal into Alec’s own making them both groan in pleasure.

“We really should be getting up and making a start to those wards. We can’t waist this time, I have no idea when Valentine will come at us again but I can’t imagine him leaving it too long between visits.” Magnus breathed, his eyes closed and head tilted to the side as Alec covered his skin in urgent kisses. 

“If you try and cut me off now, I’m gonna attack you with my seraph blade.” Alec said, between kisses. 

By now he had worked his way down onto the slope of his shoulder.

“Fuck, you taste good. I could take a chunk out of you so easily.” He growled, making Magnus shiver in delight. 

“Well, far be it for me to come between a man and a meal, have at it.” 

Alec gave a laugh before he bite down on the part of his shoulder where it started to rise to his neck. He sucked in breath through gritted teeth at the brief stab of pain but it faded quickly as he felt his skin being sucked hard into Alec’s hot wet mouth. When he lifted his mouth from him Alec gave a snort and an embarrassed sounding giggle. Magnus frowned at him.

“Okay, what have you done?” 

He knew he couldn’t see that part of his body but it didn’t stop him from trying to look in that direction.

“Well, you did say have at it. Sorry Babe, got carried away, I’ll make it up to you though.” 

Magnus snapped his fingers and produced a small square of mirror and angled it to the base of his neck. A large dark bruise covered about an inch of his skin and stood out in stark contrast on his skin.

“Jesus, angel, I’m surprised I still have skin left on my neck. You’re damn right you’re gonna make it up to me. Right fucking now.” He said, doing his best to sound angry but secretly he loved the thought of Alec marking him as his. 

He gave a secret grin to himself over Alec’s shoulder as he thought that a shirt without a collar might be the way to go today. Just to make a bit of a statement. Not to mention keeping that adorable guilty look on his man’s face.  
He gave another click and felt Alec give a jolt as he lay on along him.

“Shit, Magnus, you could of just reached over and grabbed the condom from the drawer. My junk isn’t used to shocks like that.” He said but had a smirk on his face.

“Consider it part payment in restitution for my damaged neck. Now, I want full payment and I want it now.” Magnus said, his voice low and raspy. 

Alec took in a breath as those golden eyes stared back at him like molten sunlight. He didn’t need to be asked twice. He paused at Magnus’ entrance.

“But what about………..” Alec started to say.

“I thought you didn’t need to be asked twice, just fuck me, now!” Alec gave his boyfriend a surprised look. 

“Wow! Okay, yes sir.” He said and he thrust into him hard. 

Magnus cried out and Alec stilled but Magnus moved beneath him impatiently.

“Shit, don’t stop now, baby.” He whined and Alec moved within him again. 

This wasn’t like their usual style for making love. It was usually slow and gentle, prolonging each minute to get the maximum pleasure from each second of their joining. This was something completely different; it was raw, hard and rough. Alec slammed into him over and over, hard enough to push them both the other side of the bed. But the time Alec could feel himself peaking, Magnus’ head was hanging backwards off the edge of the mattress. Magnus had a death grip on his body, his fingers dug into the working muscles of his back and his legs contracted tightly around his waist, heels dug into the small of his back.  
They both gave a loud cry as they came, bodies tensed against each other. Warm wet heat spreading between them. Alec flopped down onto Magnus’ chest letting him take his full weight, his whole upper body going up and down with his laboured breathing. The continuing waves of pleasure washed over them, Magnus’ body still pulsing around him. 

“Can we go back to sleep now, cause I’m wrecked.” Alec drawled, eyes closed. He felt the rumble of laughter through his cheek.

“Yeah, I wish we could angel, but we need to get moving on those protection charms.” 

Magnus’ head was still hanging off the edge of the bed.  
Alec suddenly jolted. His head suddenly filled with images of the dark monsters and Valentine hurtling through thick trees and grassed plains. Magnus raised himself from the bed, pushing him up with him. Alec was shaking and had paled all over. He held him in his arms, his hand on his face, caressing his rough cheek.

“Alexander! What is it? What happened?” He yelled. 

Alec seemed to come out of a daze and his eyes became focused on Magnus’ worried face. He felt him relax against him a little. Thank God, he was back with him.

“I could see Valentine and those things that were with him in that nightmare I had last night. I don’t know why it happened, I wasn’t even asleep.” 

He was panting hard his heart racing in his chest. Magnus laid a soothing hand over him and he immediate felt better, the racing thumpa thump calming down.   
Magnus frowned then pulled Alec up, his hands gripping his biceps.

“You need to tell me exactly what you saw, last night and just now, Alexander.” He said, looking right at him, his face deadly serious.

Alec recounted each minute of his nightmare and then the flash of the images he had just experienced. Magnus looked down, his finger and thumb thoughtfully pinching his bottom lip.

“Baby, I don’t think what you saw last night was a night mare or what you experienced today. I think they’re visions.” 

His eyes shot back up to Alec’s face. He felt the jolt of unease shoot through him. He took his hands in his and gently applied pressure to them, rubbing his thumbs back and forth across their backs.

“What? are you shitting me? How the fuck could they be visions? Your telling me those things I saw with Valentine are real?” 

He stared back at his boyfriend in shocked horror.

“I know this is really hard for you to get your head around, Alexander. In my world those creatures you saw are real and they are called demons.” He turned away from his face, before he said any more.

“It’s some of their blood that runs through my veins. It’s the source of my power.” He added, quietly. 

Fear now spiked through him. Alec would think he was a monster now as well. He could lose him over this and it terrified him.   
Alec felt the tremor in their bond and he knew what he was feeling in an instant. And it killed him to experience it. He grabbed magnus’ chin in his fingers and forced it back to face him. Oh sweet Jesus, he was crying. Tears were streaking down his paled face. It was breaking his heart. He leaned straight in and kissed him hard, pouring as much of his love for him into it as he could. At first, Magnus didn’t respond but as the kiss heated, it melted the shards of icy fear that had formed in him.

“I don’t give a shit what blood runs through you, Magnus. You’re nothing like those things and never will be. The same as I’ll never be an angel. But you’re pure Magnus, the man I’m so in love with it kills me to think about it. I love the fact that I have a badass warlock with the coolest eyes on the planet for a boyfriend. Nothing is going to change that, ever.” 

He felt his man’s mood soar and he threw himself at him, holding him full strength round his neck, sniffing. Alec gave a mock strangled gargle before laughing.

“Oh! Baby, I’m sorry! Did I hurt you? It’s just that, you have no idea how I needed to hear those words. I didn’t want you thinking I was like what you saw, it was killing me to……’ Alec leaned forward and cut him off with a kiss again. 

“Enough. I don’t want to hear that again, okay? Now, what’s the real go with these things and why am I seeing what I am.”

“I think it’s our bond coming into play again. I had no idea it could be as strong as it is on my end or it stands to reason that you could experience something similar. You can’t just only sense when I’m in trouble or how I’m feeling, you can see what’s causing the trouble. If what you saw is correct, and I’m positive it is, then we don’t have any time to spare. This is going to give us a big advantage, Alexander.” 

Magnus untangled himself from his arms and got off the bed and grabbed his clothes.

“But hang on, how am I going to be able to see these things when we need to? I can’t be asleep in the middle of everything and I certainly can’t expect you to have sex with me then either. That’s the only times I’ve done it.” Alec reminded him. 

Magnus stilled on his way to the bathroom. He looked back at him thoughtfully.

“I don’t think it’s because of you doing those things that allows you to see them I think it’s because your fully relaxed and your mind is more open.”  
“Well, that’s all well and good but explain to me how I’m gonna be able to relax like that when the thought of a demon army charging at us is filling my head and I’m scared shitless.” 

Magnus came back to the bed and sat down next to him. He took his hand.

“Just remember, Raphael and myself are going to be there as well, you won’t be alone and you’ll have your blade. Demons can be defeated, Alexander, I’ve dispatched thousands of them. You might not think so but you hold a great power within you as well otherwise that blade wouldn’t light up. You just need to practise channelling that into the seraph blade and opening your mind as much as possible over as many hours as we have before they get here.” 

He gave him a quick peck on the cheek and them headed for the bathroom again.

Alec sat back on the bed. If he thought too hard about what his life had now become, he’d go crazy, he was sure. The maddest thing about it all was, for the first time in his life he had no doubts what so ever that he was meant to be here, doing exactly what he was doing. It was scary as hell and it felt absolutely surreal but he could feel it in his very core that it was where he was meant to be. He took a deep breath and stood up gathering his own clothes. He gave a chuckle as he headed for the bathroom to join Magnus. Alec Lightwood, angelic defender. Yeah right. No way was he ever going to wear a body suit and a cape.


	37. Chapter 37

The rest of the day was spent in the garden out the back of the house with the seraph blade. After a few hours and a throbbing headache from the concentration he was pouring into his task, he was able to channel whatever energy it was inside of him to make the blade glow. He even managed to make a short burst of pure white blue energy come from the point of the blade. Alec found it was like trying to control a live wire though and it unnerved him somewhat to have that much power in his hand. At one point he’d almost gotten Raphael as he called him from the doorway of the terrace. 

He spun around at the sound of his name swinging the tip of the blade with him. The arc of energy struck the door frame mere inches from where Raphael was standing. The vampire threw himself to the side in a blur of movement, ending up on the floor. Alec dropped the blade with a gasp and ran up to him, worried that he’d actually hit him. Instead, he found a very pissed off Raphael picking himself up off the floor, brushing off his pants and long sleeved black shirt. 

“If you wanted to kill me, I could think of more pleasurable methods of doing it.” He said, his large dark eyes glaring back at him.

“I hope you’re more accurate with any other weapon you might process.” 

He allowed his eyes to quickly travel from his head down to his waist and then back up. 

“That’s something you’ll never know but sorry for that, it was unintentional.” Alec said, not letting him get away with the smart remark. 

“Apology accepted. I made lunch if you’re interested, Magnus is on his way as well.” 

He turned away and disappeared into he dark reaches of the house’ interior.  
Alec gave him a finally raise of his eyebrows before going back outside to pick up the dagger. When he returned to the house, Magnus had returned from setting the protection charms. He walked up to him, holding his arm with the seraph blade out from his body at a right angle, before kissing him. Magnus gave a snort of laughter, shaking his head.

“You don’t have to be that careful, my love. Just make sure you don’t touch me with it.” 

He slid his arm around Alec’s waist and they headed for the kitchen for lunch.  
A platter of sandwiches sat on the counter, along with a glass pitcher of homemade lemonade and two glasses. They took a stool each and helped themselves.

“Is everything okay? I thought I sensed something just before I portaled in.” magnus asked, his eyebrows raised.

“No, it’s all good. Well, sort of. I almost got Raph with the seraph blade.” Alec confessed between bites. 

Magnus gave a choked laugh, covering his mouth with his hand.

“Oh, baby, what happened?” Alec recounted the story. 

Making sure he left out the part about Raph’s casual remark about a certain part of his anatomy and the sweeping glance he had given him.  
Magnus gave him a knowing look, fitting in a smile with it. He might not know exactly what Raph had said to him but he knew it was something that provoked his man but he let it slide.

“If you can get control of that it will come in very handy. We are going to make a very formidable team. Valentine has no idea what you’re capable of, he thinks you’re just a mundane I’ve chosen for a pet. He’s going to get one hell of a shock when he finds out how wrong he is.” 

Magnus put a hand on Alec’s thigh and gave it a squeeze.

“I just hope I don’t stuff up and make it harder.” Alec said, reaching for his third sandwich. 

“you’ll be fine, my love, I’m sure of it. Valentine won’t know what hit him.” Magnus assured him.

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Magnus trying to help Alec to tap back into the visions of Valentine and the demon army he had put together. Alec was struggling, however, and the headache that had eased off from that morning, came back with a vengeance, to the point where Alec felt his head was going to explode.

Magnus picked up on his pain and after three hours of very little progress, he insisted he stop. Alec had become very frustrated with himself over what he considered a failure. Magnus had to get quite forceful with him to make him calm down and rest. He made him lay on the sofa in the living room and he sat behind him with his head in his lap, massaging his throbbing temples and as quietly as he could, using his magic to ease his discomfort. 

“You’re being way too hard on yourself, Alexander. This is so new to you and no one would expect you to be able to just instantly harness this gift.” Magnus told him, brushing his damp hair from his forehead.

“Yeah, the type of gift you get from an old Aunt that doesn’t know you as well as she should and you can’t wait for the opportunity to either take it back to the store or unload it onto someone else.” Alec grumbled. 

Magnus had to look away from him at that moment, so he wouldn’t see the amused look that had taken over his face. He needn’t of bothered.

“Our bond works both ways, don’t forget babe. Just saying.” Alec reminded him. 

When magnus turned back around he could see one corner of Alec’s mouth had lifted in spite of his bad mood.  
He bent over and kissed him.

“You certainly have a way with words, my angel. I love you so much.” Magnus had no problem seeing the smile on his face then.

“I love you too, babe. Thanks for making my headache go away.” 

“No thanks required, snookems, I hate feeling you in pain, even if it is just a head ache” Alec rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest.

“You are unbelievable. Where did you get that one from? The same place as snoochie? Are you ever going to give up on those stupid names?” He frowned at his man. 

Magnus looked back down at him, his fine features being occupied by a very impish grin.

“Nope, never. I’ve been saving these up for a few hundred years and I’ve been dying to try them out.” 

“Argh! The perils of loving an immortal warlock.” He flipped over and buried his face in between the lower half of Magnus’ thighs. He felt fingers carding through the hair on the back of his head.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were an expert, I was unaware of there being any other kind of warlock.” 

“Well, it’s the only kind I’m interested in really. Unless you have some other kind of friends you want to introduce me to.” Alec said, raising his head and leaning it on his hand while trying to look completely innocent.

Magnus gave a deep growl and clicked his fingers sending a rope of electric blue energy towards Alec. He gave a surprised yelp as it coiled around his body pinning his arms to his sides. As he watched his boyfriend, he lifted his hands up and Alec found himself being lifted into the air. He took in a shocked breath and tried to struggle but the tingly ropes of magic held him tight. He found himself hovering about two foot above an evil grinning Magnus who looked way too pleased with himself.

“What the fuck, Magnus! Put me down and let me go!” 

his voice shaking a little from the completely surreal feeling of being suspended in mid-air by nothing.

“Not until you say that you tell me that you take it back about wanting to meet other warlocks.” He told him. 

He was trying to look hurt but Alec knew he was faking it. 

“Are you really that insecure? And why in the name of everything holy would I want to have anyone but you, you big jerk. Put me down.” But he didn’t. 

“Nah uh, not till you say it. Magnus Bane is the only warlock I’ll ever love and I want to be with him forever.” Alec rolled his eyes.

“Okay, Magnus Bane is the only man I want to be with ever and he could be a boring mundane and I’d still love him till I take my last breath. Now put me down and knock it off with the cheesy stuff. You know full well there will never be anyone else, you’ve ruined me completely and I couldn’t be happier.” 

He saw Magnus’ face start to crumple and his eyes get very shiny. Oh boy, here we go again. he saw him lower his hands and he slowly came back down, coming to rest back on the sofa beside his weepy eyed boyfriend. The ropes of energy disappeared and he sat up, dragging Magnus into him.

“Will you stop with the water works? You’re making me feel bad.”

“But you have no idea how happy you saying those things to me makes me. I resigned myself nearly two centuries ago to the fact that I would probably never find anyone special. Someone who would love me for me, not any other reason. But here you are, my very own piece of heaven and it shocks me that I get to have you.” Magnus sniffed. 

Alec couldn’t believe that someone who had lived for as long as Magnus had could be so insecure. He suppose though, if you spent a life time being rejected because of what you were, it wasn’t that hard to imagine. He had only experienced the smallest of fractions of that and he had hated it so he knew that it was his job to make sure that Magnus knew that he loved him and would never leave him, no matter what. All new relationships had their hurdles, but he doubted there was a ‘how to’ guide to dating an insecure four hundred year old warlock. 

Suddenly. Images flashed through Alec’s mind once more. Valentine was walking in amongst dense woodland the demon army following behind, crashing through the tall trees and thick bushes. Each time they touched one, that part of the plant would blacken and shrivel like it had been burnt. Alec could feel that they were not that far away anymore It was getting all too real. This was going to happen, and soon.  
Magnus immediately sensed what had happened and he held him closer to him.

“Alexander, tell me what you saw.” He said, no trace of the soft sensitive man that had been in his arms only moments before.

“They’re in the woods. The ones surrounding the house, I’m sure of it. I could feel them as well as see them this time. He’s coming, Magnus, soon.” 

Alec’s whole body was shaking and he had gone very pale but he was handling the visions a lot better than he had before.

“They must be outside the protection wards I set up earlier or I would know. I’m fairly sure he’ll wait till dark to make his move. I need you to try to tune in to them, my love, and let us know what they’re doing, as best you can.” 

They clung to each other fiercely, like they were trying to protect each other and share their strengths. 

“I love you, Alexander, and I’ll never let anything happen to you, I can assure you of that. We can do this, the three of us, together. I need to let Raphael know what’s happening so we can prepare for what’s coming.” 

He bent down and kissed Alec, pouring as much of his love he felt for him into the kiss as he could. Alec responded the same way and they both were assured in their feelings for each other.

“I love you too, Magnus. Let’s do this. I want to see that bastard sent back to wherever he crawled out from so he can never try to hurt you again.” Alec told him. They rose from the sofa and after a final hard hug, Magnus went to get Raphael.


	38. Chapter 38

As they clock counted down, Alec sat in the living room with Magnus and Raphael, trying to relax his mind enough to tap into his visions but it was proving very difficult. Being scared out of his wits by the prospect of coming face to face with one of those demons and the thought of either Magnus or Raphael getting hurt in even the smallest way was blocking them.

“Arghh! I just can’t do it! I can’t relax enough to let them in. I’m useless.” He growled and paced up and down the room. 

Magnus could feeling his frustration and got up to hold him, mid stride.

“It’s alright, Alexander, you can’t help it. No one blames you for not being able to do it. It’s a lot to ask of you.” Magnus assured him. 

He took his hand and led him back to the sofa. He pulled him close to him and touched his lips to his, making sure it was hard enough to gain his full attention. At first he could feel how rigid his body was against his but a few minutes later he could feel Alec starting to relax into the kiss and against him.  
Alec suddenly pulled away. His mind showing him the menacing form of Valentine, striding through the woods towards the house. He was alone.

“He’s coming, here, on his own.” Alec said to Magnus just as he suddenly stiffened next to him. 

Raphael was on his feet in an instant.

“The wards have been breached, he’ll be here shortly.” Magnus said and the three of them went out to the entrance foyer to await their unwelcome visitor.

 

Five minutes of deadly silence later, there was a strong knock at the door. The three men looked at each other before looking back to the door. Alec felt Magnus squeeze his hand, hard. He took in a deep breath and walked forwards.  
He pulled open the door to find Valentine standing there, an oily smile on his face. Alec wanted nothing more than to wipe if from his face. He even made a move to lunch forward but Raphael blocked him with a hand to his chest, shaking his head at him.

“Hello Magnus. Nice to see you again. The old place hasn’t changed a bit, I see.” He said, like he was just visiting an old friend that had asked him around for dinner.

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t return your greeting, Val. I had hoped that our last encounter would be just that, our last.” Magnus said, bristling.

“Oh come on now. Things don’t have to be that bad between us. All I want is that book and you’ll never have to worry about me again.

“I have no intentions of worrying about you, Val, I haven’t for years. But if you think I’m just going to hand you over the key to unlocking anymore evil than you already have, you’re sadly mistaken.”

Valentine actually looked hurt by his words.

“You say evil, I say more power. What’s the matter, old friend, scared I’ll become stronger than you? That’s the whole thing about this, isn’t it? The mighty Magnus Bane knocked off his winner’s platform. Oh the horror of it all. “ 

behind Magnus, Alec gave a growl and went to fly forward again. Raphael blocked him with his whole body this time, frowning back at him.

“There, there, little pet, down fret about your boyfriend. I’m sure he’s more than capable of sticking up for himself without you and the night crawler next to you. Just stay out of my way and everything will be fine.” 

Raphael turned on Valentine and gave a warning hiss in his direction, fangs bared. He was still in front of Alec, holding him back.

“That’s the first smart thing you’ve said since you darkened my door, Val. Let’s just keep this between you and I, I’d hate to have to end you because you thought you could touch something that was mine.” Valentine gave a deep laugh that set Alec’s teeth on edge.

“And what would I want with a useless mundane boy and a vampire lap dog? My acquaintances are much more useful than that. You can keep your pets, Magnus. They don’t interest me. But in saying that, I’m giving you till sun down to hand over the grimoire of I may have to take one of them from you till you see sense.” 

“You come anywhere near Magnus, Raphael or me and you’ll fucking regret it.” Alec shouted at him, Raphael physically holding him back now.

“Oh boy, he is a feisty one isn’t he? You better keep that pet of yours on a tighter leach, Magnus because if he even tries to bite I’ll make sure he doesn’t ever get to try it again.” Valentine growled.

Alec could feel the out and out fury that was building up inside Magnus. He had no idea how he was staying so calm. He personally wanted to rip he man’s throat out.

“I think it’s time for you to get off my property, Val. Go back to those acquaintances you were talking about earlier.” Magnus told him, glaring hard. 

“Just remember you have till sun down if that book isn’t in my hands by then, well, let’s just say I warned you.” 

Valentine gave him a last slimy smile and then headed back down the drive way.   
Magnus watched him go till he went through the gateway. Alec saw his shoulders slump and he pulled himself from Raphael’s grip and rushed up to him, taking him in his arms and crushing his mouth down on his. He didn’t raise his head until he felt the tension drain from his boyfriend’s body.

“Thank you, baby, that feels so much better.” Magnus whispered and smiled back at him, leaning his head against his brow.

“Where I’m sure that this is really cute and everything but I think, we had better prepare ourselves for when he comes back.” Raphael said to them, arms folded over his chest and foot tapping.

“Yes, you’re right, Raph. I need to set up a demon ring around the house. It won’t get all of them but it should cut their numbers back by half, hopefully. Alexander, get your seraph blade and make sure you can activate it with no problems. Raphael, you need to use your speed to slow them up as much as you can, especially Valentine. He’ll send the demons in and try to distract us while he tries to get the book.” Magnus told them.

“Where is the book? Is it safe?” Alec asked.

“Yes, I have it in my safe in the work room. I put multiple protection wards and charms around it and the house. It should be impervious to anything Val could throw at it but he shouldn’t get that close.” 

Magnus gave Alec a final kiss and then headed outside before Alec raced to their bedroom to get the blade.  
He’d just taken it out of the box when he saw his phone sitting on the bedside chest. There were three missed calls from Jace. Shit, he really should of rang him and touched base. He hated thinking it but what if something went wrong tonight and he never got to talk to him again.? 

He decided that a two minute phone call couldn’t hurt. He pushed on his name and waited for him to answer. The phone dialed out and he tried again. It ended the same way. Alec checked the time. Five thirty. Jace should be finished work by now, at least. Maybe Pops had him doing over time while he wasn’t there.  
He shoved the phone into his back pocket and headed back out the door.

The time between daylight and dusk had never gone so quickly. Just before the sun disappeared altogether, Alec tried Jace once more but he still didn’t answer. He tried to settle his raw nerves enough to get his mind to open for a glimpse of Valentine and his demon army. Magnus was standing next to him holding his hands in his, trying to use his presence to help him. To Alec’s surprise it actually worked and the sight of Valentine and the legion of dark monsters rushing towards the boundaries of the property flashed in his mind.

“They’re on their way. Why isn’t Valentine using magic to get them here faster? I would of thought he could transport all of them here in a heartbeat.” Alec asked.

“The grounds are covered by a spell that stops him being able to use magic like that. He could use his power to fight and defend himself but not to portal anywhere. It slows him down, at least. Outside that, he would risk detection and then he would have more than me to worry about. We need to meet them head on, I don’t want them inside our home.” Magnus said and they all headed for the front door. 

Just before the reached it, Magnus took Alec’s hands and pulled him close to him.

“I just want to say how much I love you, Alexander and I don’t want you taking too many risks out there. Let Raph and I deal with the majority of them and stay behind us, only go for the ones we let slip through. Leave valentine to me. I’m the only one who will be able to handle him. Okay?” He looked up into Alec’s face, searching his hazel eyes.

“Okay, but don’t expect me to stand back and not help you if you get into trouble. That’s just not going to happen. I love you too, Magnus.” Alec kissed him for as long as he could and they walked hand in hand out to the front of the house.


	39. Chapter 39

They could smell them before they actually saw them coming. Alec had to fight the urge to gag as the acrid smell grew steadily stronger.

“Why do they smell so fucking bad?” He said, eyes narrowed to slits and his nose wrinkled.

“It’s the brimstone. Demons are spawned in hell, home of fire and brimstone.” Magnus told him. 

It was fully dark now and the sky was covered in ominous black clouds. A massive bank of them were working their way towards them, distant thunder and bolts of lightning providing the background music to the scene that was to come. Magnus turned in its direction, widening his stance and flexing his shoulders. He held out both arms to either side of his body, hands palm up. He clicked his fingers and a pair of red orange balls of energy churned on their surface. Raphael stood to his left, fangs bared in a savage snarl. Alec took as many deep breaths as he could, trying to steel himself for God only knew what that was about to hit them. He held the seraph blade in one hand and the dagger grew increasingly brighter as he channeled as much energy into it as he could.

The sound of trees snapping and undergrowth being flattened started to be heard. It was if a fleet of heavy vehicles, tanks even, were making their destructive way through the woods. Through the gloom of the night, they saw a lone figure emerge through the gates of the drive way. Alec had the crazy thought of why Valentine had still come that way when he had a demon army capable of knocking down part of the boundary wall to gain access sooner.

He walked up the drive his feet crunching on the crushed granite, like he was out for a Sunday stroll. Alec swallowed hard. The smell of the demons was over powering now, and his eyes were streaming from the acidic air they caused. All around where the top of the wall would have been, multiple sets of red glowing eyes and gaping, jagged mouths shone back at them. Holy fucking shit, if they could see over that wall it meant that the demons had to be at least ten to twelve feet tall. How the hell where they meant to kill something that big.

“Their size makes them slow, Alexander, if you have to attack one, go for its legs. One strike from that blade will destroy them.” Magnus said to him turning his head slightly but not taking his eyes off Valentine once.

“Something wicked this way comes.” Raphael growled in a deep low voice as the man came up to them.

“So, Magnus, are you going to see sense, or am I going to have to end you and your two pets and raze your house to the ground to get that grimoire?” He asked.

He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his black pants and was standing about six foot from them.

“The only thing that will end tonight, Valentine is you and your brainless beasts. You’ll never get your hands on that book, even if the house burns to the ground.” Magnus told him with a snarl.

Alec could feel the hate rolling off him in waves.

“You honestly think that the three of you can defeat my army of demons? You’ve become even more delusional in your old age than I thought. Look, I’ll tell you what, if you just hand it over now, I’ll let your two little pets live. Who knows, maybe they could be useful to me somehow, even if it’s only to fetch my slippers at night.” 

Alec felt the blade in his hand arc with energy caused from the hate and loathing he felt for the man in front of them. He saw the two glowing balls of magic in Magnus’ palms brighten as well. Didn’t the stupid fool realize that provoking them like that was only making them stronger? He didn’t seem to though, too caught up in his own ego to notice.

“I’d rather die than have anything to do with you, Valentine.” Raphael spat at him.

He let out an exaggerated sigh and a disappointed look occupied his face as he shook his head.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, vampire. You could have been useful to me, more so than the mundane, at least. That leaves me no choice then. I’m sorry it’s had to come to this, Magnus. I had hoped our history had meant more to you.”

“Anything resembling friendship that we had, Val, was destroyed long ago. It’s ancient history, and in the past where it belongs, behind me. One way or another, I’m going to write a new chapter tonight. One, without you in it.” Magnus told him. 

Alec couldn’t see his face from where he was standing just behind him but he knew without a doubt that his cat like eyes would be burning into Valentine’s face. 

“So be it. It’s your funeral, Magnus, and theirs.”

“Your own over inflated sense of self will always be your down fall, Val. Give my father my regards when you meet him, won’t you?” Magnus told him through gritted teeth. He was bristling with anger by now. 

Alec’s eyes shot towards Magnus. What had he meant by that? He knew now wasn’t the time to ask though.  
Magnus thrust one of his hands out towards him and the glowing ball hit him right in the midsection. He was knocked off his feet and launched at least four feet backwards, landing heavily on the granite drive with a heavy thud. 

He lay still for a few seconds, long enough for Alec to think that maybe he was either out cold or dead. Then he shot an arm up in the air and a bright ball of deep red energy launched into the air above their heads. The thunderous cloud that was hovering above the lofty heads of the demons suddenly started forward along with the lumbering forms of the beasts below it. Ungodly noise filled the air as they started forwards, the brick work of the boundary wall exploding outwards as their massive bodies broke through it. Alec’s eyes widened to the point of being painful, in spite of the rancid air that preceded them. Alec felt his whole body start to shake violently and he was terrified that his legs would give out on him. The blade of the dagger faltered like a shorting light bulb. The noise was deafening.

“Stay strong Alec, I need you.” Magnus yelled, sensing his boyfriend’s absolute fear.

At that moment, Alec felt his nerves strengthen, knowing that the man he was so deeply in love with required hi strength and support. He stood taller, and the blade glowed bright once again. He braced for the attack.

The demons roared forward but only got one more step towards them when Magnus’ protection ring kicked in. The second one part of their massive bodies hit the invisible barrier, the beast disintegrated in a burst of sparks like a kind of evil fireworks display. Demon after demon burst into the night air as wave after wave of them came through the rubble of the boundary wall. It didn’t matter how much they fanned out, coming in at different angles and from different directions, they became nothing but showers of sparks. Valentine had managed to get himself to his feet by now and was looking back at his ever-diminishing horde with a mix of despair and fury.

“The wards are starting to weaken, get ready!” Magnus yelled. 

The first of the demons broke through the barrier and Magnus shot two large balls of power straight at it and it vanished a few feet before them. It was followed by another and he dispatched it the same way. Valentine gave a frustrated yell and started to charge at Magnus but Raphael used his speed to tackle him before he got too close, knocking both of them to the ground. He flipped his solid frame like it weighed nothing and pushed him face down into the gravel of the drive way before grabbing both wrists and reefing them hard behind his back. Valentine cried out in pain and Raphael lunged for his throat.

“No! Raphael, he’s mine to deal with, remember? Just hold him there.” Magnus yelled as he continued to fire the balls of magic at the advancing demons.

“Alec, help Magnus, he’s going to use too much energy on those things if you don’t get in there right now!” Raphael yelled, constraining the struggling Valentine. 

Alec moved forward and joined his lover on the front line of the battle.

“No! Alexander, get back, I don’t want you hurt, get behind me, I’ll be fine.” 

But Alec could feel his strength was starting to weaken and there was still more and more of the lumbering beasts coming at them.  
He rushed forwards and took a swing at the first one in his path with the seraph blade. It sliced into it making it evaporate in a shower of sparks around him and he lined up the next one, doing the same thing. He had no idea how long they battled side by side but it began to seem endless. Alec’s arms and back began to ache painfully but he never faltered, running on adrenaline and the fear for this boyfriend. He could feel Magnus’ strength starting to wane and it was really worrying him. When he stumbled after he had destroyed three demons in a row, Alec rushed to his side.

“Magnus, are you alright?” He yelled over the constant roar of the beasts and the constant thunder and lightening.

“Yes, I’m alright don’t worry about me.” He called back but Alec could see he wasn’t. 

What would happen to them if Magnus’ strength gave out completely? The answer was too horrible to think about. Alec kept slashing away at the demons hoping that they would soon end. Then he heard the loud laughter coming from Valentine’s direction.

“Give up, you fools, there is no end to them. They will just keep coming. You can’t win, Magnus” He yelled, 

Raphael shoved his head own into the granite more forcefully. The rough stones biting into his face and he yelled out from the pain but he kept laughing even as one side of his face started to trickle with blood.

Alec looked back at Magnus with terror in his eyes. His face was strained and his whole body looked exhausted. He shook his head at him, and he knew that he had no intention of giving up. He was prepared to fight to the end. Alec felt hot tears stinging his eyes as he gritted his teeth and held his mouth tightly. He couldn’t live without that man, and he knew it within the depths of his soul. If he had to die, he would rather die beside his soulmate, knowing that they gave it their all. Raphael gave an anguished cry into the terrible night borne from his feelings of frustration, anger and pain at the thought of losing his close friend.  
Alec had no idea how long they had been going for when he saw Magnus falter and go to his knees. His face was deathly pale and dark smudges were under his eyes.

“MAGNUS!” He screamed and flew to his side. 

One of the demons moved past them and headed for the house. It began ripping into the front of it in a earth shattering crash of broken brick work and splintering glass. Raphael screamed but knew he was helpless to do anything but hold onto the instigator of all the destruction.

Alec spun around and flew towards the entity, stumbling with near exhausting himself. With a cry he sliced into its lower leg and it vanished in a shower of sparks around him but there was now a massive gaping hole in the front of the house. He spun back around to go back to Magnus. Two of them were bearing down on him and he could see the balls of energy were almost non-existent in his hands. Alec had no idea how he managed to cross the space that separated him from the man he loved in such a short space of time, but he did it, thrusting out the seraph blade as he fell across in front of Magnus, using his whole body to shield him. And arc of energy roped from its tip and both the demons burst into sparks. The blade was still pointed up towards the roiling black clouds and as it hit them, a small fissure appeared in its surface. 

The demons seemed to slow slightly in their pace and Alec stared back at them in amazement. The evil cloud! It was where they were getting their numbers from. He dragged himself up from the ground and planted his feet wide as yet another group of the beasts advanced on them.

“No! Alexander! Run, you can’t stop them! I love you, go!” Magnus said weakly from the ground near his feet.

He held the blade above his head and screwed his eyes up tightly, his sweat soaked face bunched in concentration. A pain filled yell, that seemed to come from deep within his core poured out of him as he put everything he had left into the blade. The electric white blue beam shot upwards towards the tempest above them and hit it full force. Bolt after bolt of lightning forked downwards at each of the remaining demons, destroying them in instantly. Alec could feel his arms shake with the effort but he kept going. The cloud it’s self was opening up, a rent in its density revealing the starry sky above it. Alec felt Magnus’ hand grab his leg and the beam from the blade increased in power.

“NO! NO!” Valentine was screaming as he saw what he thought had been impossible from the ground. 

The cloud finally dissipated and the silence that followed was more deafening than the constant roar that had filled the air only minutes before.  
Alec cried out and collapsed to the ground beside Magnus, completely spent.

“Alexander! No!” Magnus screamed, his voice full of pain. 

He dragged himself to Alec’s crumpled form and grabbed his face in his hands. He laid a hand on his chest, tears streaming down his ashen face. 

“He’s still breathing! He’s still alive!” Magnus cried as he cradled his head in his lap. 

Raphael flew to their side, leaving Valentine still face down in the gravel. His face a mask of concern for both Magnus and Alec. As he watched, Alec’s half closed eyes flickered and Magnus gave a cry of relief, laying a hand on his cheek.

“Oh my angel, you saved us all, you ended it.” Magnus said, his voice cracking with the emotion that was welling up out of him and streaming down his face. 

Suddenly a blood curdling yell filled the air and Raphael turned to see Valentine, his face in a rictus of fury, coming at them with his hands held out in front of him, ropes of red energy starting to arc towards them. Raphael flew to his feet and started for him but Valentine aimed his powers at him and one arc hit the vampire in the shoulder. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

“RAPHAEL!” Magnus yelled, his heart breaking at the sight of his dearest friend curled on the ground, not moving. 

His eyes flew to Valentine as he advanced on them. Utter despair filled Magnus as he watched his final fate unfolding before his eyes. After everything that they had lived through, the biggest monster of all was finally going to get his greatest wish and he was completely depleted of magic. He had nothing left. He dragged as much of his body over the top of his boyfriend, his only thought was to shield him, even if it was for a precious few minutes longer. He took Alec’s limp hand in his and squeezed it tightly.

“I love you Alexander Lightwood, in this world and the next.” He mumbled to him, tears falling down onto Alec’s slack face.

“You! You and that boy destroyed my army! How is that possible? What is he?” Valentine growled at them now only about four feet away.

“He’s Nephilim, Val. A pure soul. Part angel, part mundane. He’s a miracle.” Magnus said, his voice and his whole body shaking with emotion.

“Bullshit! There’s no such thing! You did something to him. That blade he had you put a spell on it.” He spat.   
Two feet to go.

“You saw for yourself, Valentine, what he was capable of doing. I couldn’t recreate that even if I wanted to. We have demon blood, that power was way too pure for anything we could do. Think about it. He’s Nephilim, whether you believe it or not.” Magnus smiled weakly down to his lover’s face. 

“You mean he was Nephilim. In a few minutes it’s not going to matter what he is, because you’ll both be gone and I’ll have the book, anyway.” Magnus raised his eyes to face his enemy.

“You know what Val, I don’t care. I have the memories of the last three weeks I got to spent with this beautiful being to sustain me for eternity. Knowing that we loved each other as powerfully as we did, and shared something that was more magical than a thousand warlocks could create fills me with a peace you will never know. You might get the book, but it is a hollow victory to have. It will never make you feel like I do because of this perfect creature.”

Valentine gave him an exasperated look and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, Magnus, you always were too soft. Looks like you’ll get to see your father long before I ever do. Should be a nice family reunion for you.” He raised his hands further and started to build the power in their palms to hit them both full force.

“I love you, Alexander.” Magnus whispered and he closed his eyes and awaited his end.

Sudden movement made his eyes fly open. Alec rose from the ground, shoving him roughly to the side before he raised his hand that still held the blade in it and with a grunt of effort, flung it at Valentine. It hit him straight in the heart. He froze, his eyes going wide from shock and pain. He bent his head to see the dagger, buried up to the handle, in his chest. He clutched at it and he screamed in pain as the metal scorched his hands. He sunk to his knees. A maniacal grin spread across his face.

“Pity I didn’t get to use my little insurance policy, he would have been fun to play with.” He said, his voice high and tight. 

He slumped forward, hitting the ground. Still.  
Magnus’ wide eyes flew from Valentine’s slumped form back to Alec. Alec’s heavy lidded eyes looked back at him and he managed a weak smile as he fell back against his chest.

“Sorry, I know you wanted to do that but well, I couldn’t let him kill you. I don’t care how much you wanted to be a bad ass warlock.” He drawled, his voice heavy with utter exhaustion.

Magnus laughed through his tears and he bent his head and kissed him, hard.

“Babe, you’re a hot mess. Wipe your face next time will ya?” Alec grumbled, lifting a heavy arm to scrub it across his damp skin. 

Dirty smudges replaced the dampness and Magnus laughed at him, his hand cupping the side of his face. He rubbed a thumb over his grimy cheek but it didn’t make any difference. 

“Look who’s talking about being a mess! But I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful face in all my life.” He beamed down at him. Alec tried to raise a hand to touch his face but he winced in pain and he let it drop back down.


	40. Chapter 40

“Raphael, where is he, is he alright?” Alec asked, frowning. Right at that moment they both heard a soft moan coming from a few feet away from them.

Magnus gently moved Alec off him and he crawled over to where the vampire still lay. He pulled him onto his back and took in a sharp breath as he saw the livid wound on his shoulder and upper arm. Raphael’s jacket and shirt where torn open and ugly open gashes striped his flesh. His eyes flickered open, his lips pulled back in a snarl of pain. 

“Raph, Raph, are you alright? Can you hear me?” Magnus said, his hand on the vampire’s cold face.

Raphael’s dark eyes turned to face him.

“Yeah, Magnus, I’m just peachy. How about you?” He growled, gripping his injured arm with his other hand. Magnus gave a snort.

“Nice to see that a near death experience hasn’t dampened your sense of humor.” He said, helping him to sit up.

“You forget, this isn’t my first go round with the grim reaper. He might of won the first round but I’ll be damned if he was going to get another chance.” 

Magnus smiled and shook his head. 

“I can’t heel you yet, my friend. I’ll completely spent.” Magnus said, patting his arm.

“My accelerated healing should kick in eventually. How’s our boy wonder over there? Wait where’s…” His head turned sharply to where he had last seen Valentine and saw his slumped body. 

“Did you…. Did he…..” He started to say.

“It was all my angel, Raphael. He did it. He saved us all.” He said turning towards Alec as he lay on the granite drive.

Raphael looked towards the ruined front of the house.

“You’ll excuse me if I don’t jump in and clean that mess up.” He said. Magnus smiled and went back over to where the other half of his soul lay.

“I could care less about the house, I have everything I want right here.” He said, taking Alec’s hand once more.

 

Alec woke slowly. The first thing he was aware of was how badly his whole body ached from the ends of each strand of hair to his toenails. He tried to stretch his arms and the overworked muscles screamed in protest bringing a cry of pain from him, eyes screwed up tight and teeth gritted together. He tried his legs next and got the same result. Fuck, he’d never been so sore in his entire life.

He stretched out a hand to the other side of the bed, expecting it to hit a warm comforting body and maybe some sympathy to go with it but all he felt were cool sheets. Magnus! Where was he? He jolted up right, even before his eyes could focus properly, looking at the empty space beside him. It was a monumental mistake to move that fast. The over used muscles in his back and stomach sent sharp shooting pain racing up his body and his head started to pound like someone was hitting it with a sledgehammer. He cried out and his hands went to his temples in a useless attempt to settle the ache.

“Hey, hey, hey, easy there, big guy. You shouldn’t of moved that quick. Here, lay back down I have some aspirin here, just take it slow, okay? No sudden moves.” 

Alec frowned and prised his eyelids open, blinking rapidly to try to clear his vision.  
Raphael was standing beside the bed, a cold hand on his bare arm, easing him back against a pile of pillows. When he had landed successfully against them, Raphael turned and picked up two small white tablets and a glass of water from the bed side table and handed them to him before sitting down on the edge of the mattress.  
Alec took the pills and chased them down his dry throat with the contents of the glass. Raphael took it back from him and put it back beside the bed.

“Where’s Magnus? Is he okay? Why isn’t he here with me? What……” Raphael held up a hand to silence his torrent of questions.

“Calm down, calm down, it’s all good. Magnus is fine, or rather he will be when he gets the rest he needs. Using that much magic in one hit drained him to exhaustion. He’s in his room, asleep and before you say anything else, yes I’ve been checking on him and he’s out like a light. It was his idea to put you in here so you could get the rest you needed. He was worried that you’d be more concerned about him and wouldn’t sleep. Seems he knows you pretty well.” Raphael told him in his deep steady voice. 

Alec gave him a puzzled look and went to open his mouth but Raphael put a finger against his dry lips and shook his head.

“Ah, ah, ah, less talking, more sleeping, superman, we’ve had a busy night. And before you say anything else, yes, the last thing Magnus said to me before he passed out was he made me promise to stay with you, and keep an eye on you, so you wouldn’t try anything stupid, like getting up and going in to him.” He gave Alec a stern look.

“Sorry, he made you do that, I know it’s difficult for you to be around me. And I don’t need a babysitter, I don’t think I could get out of this bed if I wanted to.” Alec said, wincing once more.

“Awww, don’t you fret over little old me now, Mr Lightwood, I’ve got more impulse control in my little finger than you have in your whole beautiful body. I can behave myself and besides, I don’t know who I’d be more afraid of getting staked by, you or your love sick warlock in there.” 

He jerked his head in the general direction of Magnus’ room. 

“I’m nothin’ to be scared about.” Alec said, despondently.

As much as his body was protesting it’s rough night, all he longed for at that moment was to see his boyfriend and curl into his warm firm side. 

“You’re kidding, aren’t you? Do you have any idea what you achieved last night? As much as it pains me to say it, you saved the fucking day out there, or night, actually. That asshole would of ended you both and then come after me if you hadn’t been so god damned accurate with that blade of yours. I shouldn’t of let him go when I did, but I was so worried about Magnus, and you, of course.” 

Raphael looked down at his hands as he laced and unlaced them in his lap.   
Whoa! A contrite vampire. Who knew that was possible? Alec wanted to say something smart back but he thought better of it. Raphael was holding out a white flag and he’d be an idiot not to accept it. 

“I dunno about the hero part, Magnus did most of it. I just sorta cleaned up beside him. But thanks, anyway. If you don’t want to stay with me you don’t have to. You must be tired as well.” 

He hadn’t failed to notice the dark smudges under each of his coal black eyes. His pale skin making them stand out even more.

“Oh no, if I leave, I’ll have your boyfriend after me for neglection of duties, I’ll put up with having to watch your pretty face over the wrath of a pissed off warlock, if it’s all the same to you.”

Alec felt his skin heating but even that sort of hurt him.   
Raphael got up and went back to the wing backed chair that he had dragged around from the fireplace to face the bed. He crossed one long leg casually over the other, resting his ankle on the knee. He leaned an elbow on the arm of the chair and rested his chin in his hand, watching him. Alec saw him give a small grimace of discomfort as he put his weight on his shoulder and he eased it back slightly. He had forgotten that Valentine had hurt him.

“Are you okay? How’s your arm?” Alec asked, his voice was beginning to slur from drowsiness.

“It’s getting there. Magical wounds never heal as quickly as other types do. Magnus would of done it faster but be was spent. Don’t worry about me, sweet prince, I’m all good. Sleep.” He said and Alec felt his heavy eyes closing for the last time.

When he woke again, the room seemed darker and the lamp in the corner was turned on, giving the space a comforting glow. Alec tried his muscles and found them not as bad as when he had woken up before. He looked towards the chair and smiled at the sight of a sleeping Raphael, his head curled into the padded wing of the back of the chair. Some baby sitter, Alec thought. He threw back the covers on the bed and slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side. He was only wearing his boxers and he wondered if it had been Raph who had stripped him of his clothes. That would have been interesting, he thought, raising his eyebrows.

He saw a familiar blue robe laying across the foot of the bed and he grabbed it, sliding the cool satin across his body. He eased himself off the bed, testing his weight on his still aching legs and was surprised to see that they looked like they were going to hold him up. Good, because there was one place he desperately needed to be and he’d get there even if he had to crawl.

He went over to the door, watching for any sign that the sleeping vampire might stir and catch him in the act but be slept on. He opened the door as quietly as he could and went out into the hallway and headed for Magnus’ room. His ears were still ringing in the complete silence of the dark house, a product of the constant roar that had deafened him the night before.  
He reached Magnus’ door and turned the handle slowly and pushed it open. 

He was laying on his side, his back to the doorway. Alec could see the gentle rise and fall of his side, the coffee colored skin bare to the coolness of the room. He tip toed over to the side of the bed and looked down at the sleeping form of the man he adored. At first, Alec thought Magnus had the sheet pulled up tightly against his chest and face but then he saw it was a completely different color to the deep red of the bed clothes. He frowned a little wondering what it was. When he did, a hand flew to his mouth and tears welled in his eyes. Sweet Jesus, it was the shirt he had been wearing last night. Magnus was gripping it tightly to him, his face buried in it against the pillow. Alec shook his head in wonder and affection. The man was going to break him. 

He undid the robe and let it fall to the floor behind him before he pulled the sheets and quilt back and gently got into the bed behind him. He carefully moved right up against him, making sure there was as much of him touching his warmth as he could get. He draped an arm over his ribs and fanned his hand out over the smooth surface of his chest. He smiled as he felt the gentle rise and fall of his steady breathing. He immediately felt a deep calm settle over him and the aches and pains that racked his body faded away. He nuzzled his face into the back of Magnus’ neck, taking in deep lungful’s of that wonderful smell of his and with a contented smile, closed his eyes once more.

 

Even before he had opened his eyes for the third time, Alec was smiling. His first conscious thought was of the wonderful soft sensation of warm kisses being planted all over his chest and neck. He slowly opened his eyes and his smile grew into a grin as he came face to face with the love of his life.

“Hey.” He said softly, his grin getting broad enough that it was actually hurting the corners of his mouth.

“Hey yourself, my angel. My guardian angel. How are you feeling?” Magnus asked, continuing to put feather soft kisses on his neck and stubble covered jaw. 

“Still a little stiff but on the whole not too bad. I feel like I’ve been asleep for ever.” He said, dreamily as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, reveling in the exquisite feeling of his boyfriend’s ministrations. 

This was the way to wake up, hands down the best way. Speaking of hands down…  
He felt slender fingers edge under the waist band of his boxers and curl around his thickening erection, making him twitch in his hand. He heard a soft laugh near his ear.

“You seem to be still very stiff in all the right places, my beautiful boy. Allow me to ease it for you.” 

Magnus purred and his velvet smooth voice sent shivers of delight and need running down Alec’s spine. He gave a hum of pleasure and wrapped his arms around that tawny sculpted chest he had longed to feel against him in the preceding hours he had spent alone and wanting. Magnus moved his body onto Alec’s but stilled, raising his weight onto his arms.

“Is this alright, baby or do you want me to get off?” He asked him, his eyebrows arched in question. 

Alec didn’t answer at first he just gave him a cheeky grin and reached up with his arms and his legs to pull him back down to rest on his body with a deep. “Ahhhh.”

“I don’t want you to get off I want you to get me off.” He whispered into Magnus’ ear as it brushed near his face as he mouthed his neck.

He heard a giggle, stifled by the fact that his lover had a mouth full of skin. Magnus lifted his head and smile down into his face. The correct hue of coffee coloured skin was back and the livid dark marks under his eyes had vanished, thank God. There were still a few tell-tale lines of strain around each slightly sloping eye but other than that it looked like his gorgeous warlock was back to normal.

“I love you so so much, Babe. I don’t want to think about what would of happened last night if I hadn’t killed Valentine.” 

The smile dropped from Alec’s face and Magnus stilled. He had gone very pale and his eyes had grown wide.

“I… I.. killed someone last night! Oh fuck! I actually killed another human being! Jesus, what have I done?” Alec struggled under Magnus and he moved so he could sit up. He was breathing rapidly and his hand was on his chest, feeling his racing heartbeat. Magnus grabbed him and hauled him close to him, crushing him tightly to his body.

“Shhh, ssshh, it’s alright Alexander, you did nothing wrong. He would of killed us both and Raphael if you hadn’t got him first. The man could barely be described as human, he had allowed the dark part of him take over and make him something else. This isn’t like the world you’re used to, my love. No one will mourn his passing, I can assure you. You did what you had to do. Please, don’t stress over this.” Magnus told him as he held his head against his chest and rubbed his face in his dark hair. 

He could feel the dampness on his skin from where his love had broken out in a sweat.   
Alec was clinging to him like a small frightened child. His fingers digging into his back. Magnus just sat with him on the bed, rocking him on his lap, smoothing his damp hair back from his brow and occasionally placing a soft reassuring kiss on his forehead. After about five minutes, he could feel Alec calming down and his breathing became more even. Magnus offered up a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was listening. It almost killed him all over again to see the man he loved more than his own life in so much distress. He wanted to ask him how he felt but he thought it would be better to wait until Alec was ready. 

“Sorry.” Was his first shaky word. 

He pulled away from Magnus and looked up at him, looking very ashamed of himself. Magnus lifted his chin with a finger and kissed him.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. Last night was very hard on all of us, especially you, my love. Raph and I have managed to harden ourselves against the more uglier side to our world but it took many, many years. You were shoved off a cliff and into the deep end with all this. It’s only natural that it would have some adverse effects.” He told him.

“There was nothing natural about what happened last night, Magnus.” Alec replied.

“No, not for you it wasn’t.” Magnus took his face in his hands and looked back at him.

“I forget you are still so new to all this, my love. You’ve just seemed to of taken my life in your stride and accepted so much. I guess there’s a limit to what you can deal with in such a short space of time, even for you. But don’t forget, Alexander, your more part of my world than you think with your angel blood. Without that there would have been no way we could of achieved what we did last night without it.” Magnus reminded him. 

Alec hadn’t thought about that. He was more than just a mundane, a boring mechanic. His life had changed in more ways than he had ever thought possible. He just needed time to catch his breath with it all. He could feel worry building in his boyfriend, and he knew what had him on edge.

“I’ve got no intentions of going anywhere, babe, you don’t have to worry about that. If I couldn’t live without you before all this than I’m sure as hell not able to do it now. But do you think we could calm things down a bit for a while? I mean, you don’t have any more ex friends you’ve managed to piss off do you?” 

Magnus put his head back and laughed. It was such a happy sound after such a rotten time that Alec couldn’t help joining in.

“No, my angel, I don’t. But if I did, I have my angelic defender to deal with them. I love you.” He bent his head and kissed his love tenderly, filling the both of them with the warm radiating glow borne of their feelings for one another.


	41. Chapter 41

They were laying together in their bed, Alec’s head on Magnus’ firm abs, his legs tangled with his. He was trailing his fingers up and down the middle of his chest, the other firmly clutching one of Magnus’. They were smiling softly at one another. Magnus was propped up on his pillows, his free hand occupied with Alec’s thick dark tresses.

“I need a haircut.” Alec said, lazily.

“Don’t you dare, I love it like this.” Magnus complained. Alec smiled.

“Okay, anything for you.” Magnus raised his eyebrows and gave him the evil genius smile. Alec rolled his eyes. What was he up to now?

“Hmm, let’s see, would you…. Get a tattoo with me, something special, just for us?”

“uhh, yeah, yeah I would do that.” Alec said, nodding.

“what about growing a beard?” Alec shot him a look.

“Are you serious? Why the heck would you want me to do that?”

“I love the feel of your scruffle on my skin. I don’t want you look like you’re going for lead singer with Z Z Top or anything but a light beard would look so cute on you.” Arghh! There was that word again. 

“If you promised not to tell me I looked cute every five minutes I might consider it.” Magnus gave a giggle and clapped his hands.

“Oh this is too much fun. What else? How about a real date, just the two of us?”

“Now that’s definitely something I would do, you name the time and the place and I’ll be there, babe.” He leaned in and put a loud kiss on his lips.

“Would you come on a vacation with me?”

“Sounds great, when do we leave?” 

Magnus beamed at him. He was Batting a thousand with this. He decided to throw in a curve ball.

“Can you introduce me to your parents?” 

Alec’s face dropped just slightly before he took his other hand.

“Yes, most definitely. I want them to meet the person I intend to spend the rest of my life with.” 

Alec saw Magnus’ eyes grow wider then fill with tears.

“Ah, ah, ah, no more tears. I can’t have you meeting my Mum and Dad and have you bawl all over them. Or me, for that matter.” 

Magnus sniffled and straightened up, wiping his face.

“You have my word that I won’t cry in front of your parents. As long as I can see some cute baby photos. Oh maybe that promise might prove difficult to keep then.” Magnus said in mock concern.

Alec gave him a playful shove and pulled him down by his legs so he was flat on the bed. He straddled his hips and grabbed his wrists and forced them down either side of his head. Magnus was laughing and trying to struggle beneath him.

“Oh, man handling me now. I must of hit a nerve. What’s the matter with your baby photos, were you a bit of an ugly duckling, my love?” 

“You’ll never know because you’re not going to see them. So forget it.” Alec told him.

“Okay, we’ll see. Well, that’s about all I can think of to ask you for now except for one thing.”

“Oh boy, do I even want to hear what this is? Alright, hit me with it.” Alec said, letting his hands go and sitting up straighter, his arms folded across his chest as he steeled himself for Magnus’ next request.

“Move in with me. Share my life with me. I can’t live with only seeing you on weekends anymore, Alexander. I love you too much.” 

Magnus searched his face, trying to judge his thoughts. It was like trying to keep a track on just one bee in the middle of a busy hive. Alec’s thoughts were racing.

“You really want to live with me? But where? I can’t commute two hours each way every day to live here with you and you need space for your work room, my place would be too small. Would Raphael be with us as well?” He asked.

“I know living here would prove too difficult, my love so we could get a bigger place in the city. If you didn’t mind too much, Raph might have to come along with us for a while at least. I don’t think living with two love sick fools like us is something he will tolerate for too long. But I will be sad to see him go when he does. He’s been with me for over two centuries.” Magnus said, looking a little sad.

“Raph doesn’t have to go anywhere. I couldn’t do that to him or to you. I kinda like the idea of having a new place that’s ours, not yours or mine. But, don’t you have to stay here, isn’t that like your job?” 

Magnus smiled at him and ran his hands up Alec’s thighs that sat either side of his hips.

“I can let the powers that be know that they can find another warlock for this place.” He let out a loud sigh and looked around the room.

“You’ll miss this place too much, though.” 

“No, I don’t think so. The only memory I really want to take with me is the night you walked through my door. The rest don’t really matter, especially after last night. I think a fresh start is long overdue but only if that includes you in my life.” 

Alec bent down and lay his chest onto Magnus’, their hearts beating against each other’s.

“You already have that, babe. For as long as you’ll have me.” 

Magnus lay his arms over his back, his hands gliding up and down the firm plain of his back.

“I never intend to let you go, my love.” 

“Then here’s to forever then.” Alec said and he joined his mouth to his. 

They were still in the same position when the door flew open and Raphael, looking rather sleep rumpled and not completely awake, burst into the room. Alec and Magnus halted their actions and looked back at him.

“Oh, damn, I’ve sorry, it’s just o woke up and saw Alec wasn’t in bed and I was worried that he’d… doesn’t matter. I should of known this is the first place he’d go to.” Raphael looked down at his feet and went to turn away.

“Thanks for caring, Raph. Sorry to frighten you.” Alec said, leaning up from Magnus. 

The sheet that had been covering him from the waist down slipped back and pooled onto Magnus’ legs. A decent portion of Alec’s bare backside and his semi hard nether regions went on full display. Raphael folded his arms over his chest as he raise his eyebrows, and pursed his lips. His eyes lingering below Alec’s waist for a little longer than necessary. Alec saw his eyes dip and he grabbed for the sheet, blushing all over.  
Magnus turned his head away and chuckled into the pillow.

“If I were you I’d put that weapon away before it goes off and hurts someone.” He sucked in a unneeded breath for effect.

“Raphael! Please!” Magnus said, trying to be stern but much to Alec’s annoyance he could hear the barely disguised laughter in his voice.

“I’ll be in my room if you need someone else to help with target practice.” Raphael quipped and he turned and left the room just as Alec threw a pillow at him.

He flopped back down onto Magnus, feeling the giggles bubbling out of him.

“You really want us to live with a horny vampire? Life will never be dull, that’s for sure.” Alec said.

 

The two of them had every intention of going back to sleep but rumbling stomachs dragged them out of bed around ten o clock that night and sent them to the kitchen.   
Raphael must have been thinking of other things besides what he saw in the bedroom because there were two plates with homemade lasagne on them and a bowl of salad next to it in the fridge. 

Magnus reheated their food while Alec got two glasses for the bottle of wine that sat on the counter. Raph had thought of everything.   
They chatted while they ate about their prospective new home and what it should have. Magnus wanted a large condo down town so it gave them access to all the restaurants and night spots. Alec agreed as long as they weren’t too far away from his work. 

“You won’t have to worry about riding your bike anymore. You could take my car.” Magnus said, spearing a piece of lettuce.

“Oh no, I’m keeping my bike, thanks very much. If those guys see me coming to work each day in a fancy car, I’d never live it down. Pops would make my life hell. Jace would give me such a hard time.” Alec said. 

He was just about to take another bite of lasagna when he paused, the loaded fork half way between plate and mouth. Magnus stopped chewing.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“Shit! Jace! Jace tried to call me yesterday and I missed all three calls. When I tried to get him before the whole Valentine incident, he wasn’t picking up. Shit, I need to try him again, even though its late. I’m sorry babe, I just need to get my phone. Hang on, where is my phone?” 

He had no idea what had happened to it.

“I think Raph put it in the spare room where you went to sleep.” Magnus told him and he raced out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the guest room to find it.

He went through the door and flicked on the light switch. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw it sitting on the bedside table connected to the charger cord. He went around to get it and as soon as he disconnected it, the screen lit up full of unanswered call notifications. Alec frowned as he scrolled through them. They were all from Clary. What the hell? Why was she calling him and not Jace? Maybe he had lost his phone again and was using hers but why the urgency? He began to feel unease creeping though him. He looked at the time and saw it was now fifteen minutes to eleven. Pretty late to be calling anyone but he knew if he didn’t the reasons for why Clary or Jace were trying to get hold of him would stop him from sleeping.

He pushed on the screen to dial Clary’s number then waited. It only rang twice.

“Hello?” Clary’s voice was shaky, it sounded like she was crying.

“Clary? It’s Alec, I’m sorry I didn’t answer, things have been, er, busy around here, what’s going on?”

“Oh thank God! We’ve been trying to get hold of you for ages! It’s Jace, Alec, he’s disappeared.” Clary sobbed. 

Alec felt like ice water had just been poured down his spine. In the distance he could hear feet pounding up the stair case and he knew it was Magnus.

“What? Waddyamean? He said, just as Magnus rushed into the room and over to his side his hands laying on his arm gentle with concern.

“I mean he’s gone, disappeared. He went to work yesterday morning and the apparently left in a big hurry at lunchtime. We asked Pops and he said he got a phone call from someone and he told him it was an emergency and he had to go. Pops thought something had happened to you. Have you heard from him at all?”

“He tried to call me yesterday afternoon but my phone had gone flat and I didn’t see the missed calls until after five thirty. I tried to call him back but there was no answer. Fuck! Where the hell is he?” 

Alec’s fear was turning into frustrated anger. Now he was glad he had killed that bastard Valentine. It was his fault he had missed those calls. 

“I’m coming back right now, Clary. We’ll work this out together. See you in a couple of hours.” He ended the call. 

He turned to his boyfriend and had opened his mouth to asked but Magnus shook his head.

“There’s no need, I’ll get Raphael to get the car. I’d get us there sooner but my magic is still too low to use. You grab your things and then I’ll come back up and get dressed and pack a back myself.” 

He leaned in and brushed his lips to his.

“It will be okay, Alexander, we’ll find him.” Magnus assured him and they left the room.


	42. Chapter 42

Thanks to Raphael’s heavy foot, the trip back to the city which usually took them two hours, was cut down to an hour and twenty minutes. They rushed straight over to Jace’s small studio apartment and were greeted with a sobbing Clary out the front.

Alec bailed out of the car as soon as the pulled up to the curb and wrapped her in his long arms. Her small body was almost engulfed by his and he had to bend to rest his head on top of hers. Magnus came up behind them and rubbed her back in sympathy. He hated feeling the unease and frustration rolling off his boyfriend, it wasn’t fair that he had to deal with this when it had only been twenty four hours since their battle with the demons and Valentine.

“Can we go into his place and see if we can find anything that might give us an idea of where he might be? You have a key, right?” Clary asked, sniffing back tears.

“Yeah, let’s go.”   
They headed for the front door. Magnus signaled to Raphael to follow them as well. Something was niggling at the back of his mind about this but it hadn’t taken shape enough yet to know what it was.  
Alec opened the door with the spare key and he went to go into the dark apartment. Magnus shot out an arm to stop him. He gave his head the barest of shakes, looking directly into Alec’s eyes, hoping he got his meaning. He did, and stepped back, allowing Raphael to enter first. With Raph’s dark hair and dark clothing he seemed to meld into the gloom of the apartment and they waited with a collective held breath before he came back to them and gave Magnus a nod.  
Alec flicked the light switch and Magnus gave a gasp.

“Well, there certainly looks like there’s signs of a struggle, oh dear.” He said, looking around the messy living room, his hand going to his mouth.

“Nah, this is how it usually looks, unless I stay, that is.” Clary told him and walked further into the room, picking up the odd discarded item of clothing or empty take out container.

Magnus raised an eyebrow.

“The place smells like the inside of a gym locker.” He mumbled under his breath when Alec drew level with him. He gave a snort.

“Yeah, Jace will never make the cover of Home Beautiful, that’s for sure.” 

Magnus watched as Clary went down into Jace’s bedroom and then took Alec’s arm. Raphael drew closer to them.

“He’s been here, I can still smell him, even over all this stink. It’s faint so he must of grabbed him before he came to us.” Raphael told them in a low voice, his eyes trained on the hall way in case Clary reappeared. Alec felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.

“Wait, you mean that bastard Valentine took him? What the fuck, Magnus! Why the hell would he take Jace?” 

Alec’s face was growing red with rage and he barked the words at Magnus through gritted teeth, trying to control his anger so his voice wasn’t too loud and traveled down the hall way. He felt something change in his boyfriend and he could tell he knew more about this.

“I’ve been trying to get a grip on something that I remembered Val saying to me, just before he died. I was so exhausted by then, I’m surprised I even remember that he spoke at all. He said something to me and at the time it didn’t make a lot of sense to me but as I said, I was pretty out of it and I doubt that even the sound of my own name would of registered with me.” Magnus told them, keeping his own voice low and spitting the words out as fast as he could before Clary entered the room once more.

“He said something about being disappointed about not being able to use his insurance policy and that it would have been fun to play with him. My addled brain didn’t really make much sense out of it at the time, but I think he meant Jace. He’d taken him and stashed him somewhere to use him to get to you Alexander and in turn the grimoire.” Alec swore under his breath and turned away from the other two, fuming. 

“Well, that’s just fucking fantastic, isn’t it? Not only can’t we tell Clary what the fuck has happened to Jace, we can’t ask the only person who knows where he is because I killed him. Fuck! Could this get any worse?” Alec spat as he rounded on them again. 

His last few words had been louder than they should of and Clary came running out of the bedroom.

“What? What is it? Did you find something?” She asked, her too large eyes wide in her pale tear stained face. 

Magnus gave Alec a look that told him to keep a lid on his feelings and he felt him take his anger off boiling point and reduce it to a heated simmer instead.

“I’m sorry Clary, I’m just frustrated that we didn’t find anything. I didn’t mean to get your hopes up.” Alec said sadly, his voice wavering with barely contained anger. 

His eyes flicked to Magnus and back down again. it had only taken a less than a heartbeat to do but somehow Clary had picked up on it.

“Alright guys, what’s going on I know you’re keeping something from me. Did you find something and don’t want to tell me what it is? Is it something bad? Jesus, is it blood or something?” 

Clary was getting increasingly hysterical her voice rising to just under a squeal.  
Alec grabbed her thin arms.

“Clary calm down it’s nothing like that really it’s……” 

He let her go and turned his back on her, making her even more confused about what was going on. He gave Magnus an exasperated look. How the hell could he say to Clary, “hey, we know what happened to your boyfriend but we can’t tell you and we also know who took him but hey, I killed him last night, so, oops, my bad.” Magnus gave him an understanding look. He could feel his tension as surely as he felt his own. He gave Alec a small nod and turned back to Clary. Alec’s eyes flew to him, going wide. What the hell was he going to do? He wasn’t going to tell her all this was he?

“Clary, let’s sit down over here for a minute.” 

Magnus took her arm, gently guiding her to Jace’s battered garage sale find sofa. Clary allowed him to led her over and took a seat next to him. Alec looked towards Raphael. The vampire was standing near the front windows of the apartment, one hand shoved into his pants pocket the other cupping his lower face, like he was trying to hide his mouth. Or fangs, Alec thought. His eyes were glued to Magnus and Clary and the only indication that he knew he was looking at him was a quick flick of his beady black eyes to his face for a few seconds and then back again. No help what so ever to Alec. He still was none the wiser for what Magnus might have in mind.

“Clary, I think I owe you an explanation about something.” Magnus began.

“Magnus, you don’t have to….” Alec started to say but Magnus held up a slender ringed finger and silenced him. 

He gave him a look as if to say trust me, and Alec settled, not wanting to let him think he didn’t. 

“In my line of work, I’m afraid I’ve accrued an enemy or two over the years. Not everyone can be a satisfied customer. One of those people confronted me a few days ago, trying to black mail me over an old issue that happened quite a few years ago. I refused to give him what he wanted, of course, and he wasn’t satisfied with that. He came to my house last night and after shall we say, aggressive negotiations, he left, never to return. I have a feeling that he may be responsible for Jace’s disappearance.” 

Magnus reached out for Alec’s hand and he gave it to him.

“The man was a monster, in every sense of the word, and he tried to use my wonderful Alexander here, as a way to try to get what he wanted. Obviously, it didn’t work, Alexander saw straight through him and helped me to dispatch him from my property. We were unaware of the extent that he was willing to go to get what he wanted otherwise if we had known about Jace beforehand, things might have been different. There’s no way to contact him now, I’m afraid. You might say he’s dropped off the map completely but I don’t want you to worry about it, I have every intention of helping to find Jace.” Magnus said, dropping Alec’s hand and picking up Clary’s childlike one, giving it a pat. 

Alec had been watching Clary’s face the whole-time Magnus had been talking. It had run the gamut from sad to hopeful to angry then back to scared. She seemed to of believed Magnus’ version of the truth though. Her cheeks were still damp from the near constant stream of tears as she looked back at him. All of a suddenly she threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, laying her face on his shoulder. Her unexpected burst of affection had taken Magnus by complete surprise and he had flinched at her touch at first. Then he visibly relaxed and held her in his arms, giving her back comforting sweeps of his palms.

“I don’t blame you for this Magnus, it’s not your fault. It’s all on the other guy but how are we going to find him if he’s not around anymore?” Clary asked when she had let him go and sat back on the sofa.

“Oh I think there we have a few options but I don’t want you to fret about this too much. Wherever he is I’m sure Jace is alright. He was only taken to get leverage on what he wanted from me, I’ve known this man for a long time and he wouldn’t of hurt Jace in any way.” Magnus reassured her.

“You need to get some sleep and let me follow up on a few things. We’ll let you know what’s going on in the morning, I promise.” Magnus said, laying a hand over Clary’s.

Alec was bursting with questions for his boyfriend over what he had just said but he bit his tongue until Clary had reluctantly left the apartment. Magnus sensed his tension and he’d barely opened his mouth before he began talking.

“I know you were worried about what I was going to say to that poor girl but I had to tell her something or she would have gone scampering off to the police and we don’t need that type of attention. You don’t honestly think I would have sat the poor thing down and said oh by the way, the man that took your boyfriend was a warlock with a giant grudge against me and last night he came at us with his demon army and Alec here stabbed him in the chest with an ancient magical weapon, but don’t worry because I’m a warlock too and I can track where Jace is from a piece of his clothing.” 

Alec tried to give him an innocent look as if to say of course I knew you wouldn’t of told Clary all that. Raphael just looked bored with the whole thing and continued to stand near the window silently. Manus got up from the ratty sofa and walked over to his boyfriend, giving him a quick kiss.

“Alexander, don’t play innocent with me, I know what you were thinking and I could hear you holding your breath. I was telling her the truth, however about finding Jace. I can track him with a piece of his clothing.” Magnus assured him as he leaned into him and rested his head on Alec’s chest. 

“You know that’s not an option at the moment, Magnus. Your too weak to use your powers at the moment.” Raphael said from across the room. Alec looked down at him.

“Is that true? Babe, you can’t make yourself any weaker, I don’t care what’s going on, I won’t risk losing you again.” Alec held him close and squeezed , laying his head on Magnus’. 

Magnus smiled softly. He loved that he was so protective with him. He’d never had that before besides Raphael but it was much different. This way made him feel warm deep within his soul.

“I’ll be fine, my angel, I don’t want you to worry about me. Go and get one of Jace’s shirts or something. Preferably something that I’m not going to have to be vaccinated   
against afterwards.” Magnus told him, breaking out of his arms. 

Alec put a light kiss onto his forehead before he headed for Jace’s bedroom.

“And for God’s sake, no underwear. I definitely don’t have the strength for that.” Magnus called out as he disappeared around the corner.

Two minutes later, Alec returned with a rumpled looking shirt and handed it to Magnus. He took it from him gingerly with a thumb and index finger.

“Well, it fits the criteria of being worn, that’s for sure.” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes in a slow blink before holding the shirt out in front of him.

“Let’s see if I can do this.” He held out a hand and gave his fingers a sharp click and a very pale blue flame of magic appeared in his hand. It was no here near the brilliant electric blue that it should have been and Alec looked at Magnus with a worried expression. His face was a mask of concentration. He looked like he was having to work extremely hard just to produce the weak flame of energy, and it concerned him. A fine sheen of sweat was starting to make his forehead shine and when Alec saw his arm and hand start to shake he knelt down beside Magnus and grabbed his hand, extinguishing the pale flame. He put his other arm around his shoulders, feeling the tension in them as well. Magnus slumped against him, he was still so depleted, just that small effort had exhausted him.

“Magnus, that’s it no more, I can’t let you do this to yourself. It’s too much, we’ll just have to wait till your stronger.” Alec said, wiping the moisture from his brow as he lay against him, looking pale and tired. 

He was rubbing his cheek against Alec’s t shirt. Alec bent down to kiss the top of his head. He just prayed that wherever Valentine had stashed Jace, he was going to be okay for a day or two longer but he would be lying to himself if he said it didn’t frustrate him. It was a catch twenty two situation for him, he desperate loved Magnus and didn’t want to risk losing him to exhaustion yet he loved his best friend as well and his worn out boyfriend seemed to be the only one who could find him. He felt Magnus pat him on the chest next to where his head was still resting.

“Don’t worry so much about me, my angel, I’ll be fine. I know this is difficult to deal with for you and I’m so sorry I can’t be more help to you. It’s just as frustrating to me as well. Maybe if I use some of your strength, I could do it.” He said, lifting his head heavily from his body to look back at him. 

Alec looked down at him and then at Raphael. He didn’t even know that something like that was even possible and he needed reassurance from the only other person who knew Magnus to tell him if it was even achievable. Raphael walked over towards them on silent feet. Alec had never known anyone who could be both so solidly built yet so light of step. Maybe it was a vampire thing. He could see where a skill like that could come in handy.

“Magnus, that’s not a great idea, and you know it Your dangerously weak now, even using Alec’s strength will weaken you. Give it twenty four hours and allow yourself to recharge.” Raphael told him, frowning down at them both. His eyes flicked to Alec.

“You need to make sure he does and no unnecessary movement. So try to keep your hands off each other, if that’s even possible. You two are worse than a pair of love sick teenagers.” His face looked like the words had tasted unpleasant on his tongue. Magnus gave a quiet laugh.

“Oh Raph, I don’t know if I can do that, I can’t help myself these days. My angel here is irresistible, my own personal drug and I’m happily addicted.” 

Magnus turned his eyes up to Alec and smiled softly. Alec brushed his lips on his but even as tired as he was Magnus wasted no time in allowing the kiss to catch fire. Raphael cleared his throat noisily.

“Losing your strength must of affected your hearing as well, I see. Come on guys, it hasn’t been two minutes. Am I going to have to lock one of you in a bedroom for a day?” He said, his irritation coming through in his voice and its tone. 

Magnus and Alec managed to let go of each other and leaned foreheads together, quiet smiles playing on their lips. Raphael folded his thick arms across his chest, rolled his eyes and tapped his foot, quickly running out of patience.

“When you two have finished making goo goo eyes at each other, I think we should get back to the apartment so we can all get some rest.” He said, frowning. As is to emphasize his point he walked over to the door and flung it open and stood in the opening, eyebrows raised with a questioning look.  
Magnus gave his old friend an apologetic look and stood slowly up from the sofa. He really was feeling each one of his four hundred years tonight. He hadn’t realized how drained he actually was until now, maybe Raph had the right idea, even though it meant not having Alec the way he would of liked.

Alec picked up on his weariness as well and slid an arm around his waist, disguising a firm support in the loving gesture. The headed for the door. Magnus looked up and gave him a knowing smile.

“I’ll be alright, my angel, you don’t have to worry about me so much.” He said softly, patting Alec’s hard abs through his shirt. 

“Who’s worried? I can’t just want to hold the man I love as close as possible.” He said, trying to act innocent. Magnus just leaned his head onto his shoulder, knowing better.

 

The next twenty four hours felt much longer than they actually were for all of them. Clary was bombarding them with constant texts about whether they had gotten any leads on Jace’s where abouts. Alec knew she was worried sick and so was he but her regular messages were only making him more on edge and he presumed they would have a similar effect on her.

Alec tried to keep himself busy for the day, tidying up and doing some much needed washing while Magnus slept in his bedroom. He found himself sneaking peeks at him regularly enough that after the fifth time in two hours, Raphael was starting to lose patience big time. He had just finished cleaning the bathroom and he crept out into the hallway, peered down into the living room to make sure Raph wasn’t looking before he took the first of the three steps that it took to reach the bedroom door when there was a blur of movement and the air was disturbed strongly enough that it ruffled his hair. Raphael appeared right in front of him, standing in the doorway of the bedroom, glaring at him. His beetle black eyes burning into his.

“If you go near this door again in the next two hours, I swear to God I’ll tie you to one of your kitchen chairs.” He threatened. “He’s fine. If he wasn’t your bond would let you know, now go.” He held out a hand and pointed a finger in the direction of the living room.

Alec gave him a sour look and trudged off. He would never admit it to the bossy vampire, but he supposed he was right. He would know if there was something wrong. It was just all the sitting around and the constant worry about Jace was making his nerves jangle.  
Late in the afternoon, Raphael suggested that they make dinner, having had enough of Alec’s constant fidgeting and pacing around the small room.   
They went to the small kitchen and after raiding his fridge and cupboards, Raph found the ingredients for spaghetti and meatballs. He set Alec to work chopping onions and boiling water for the pasta while he prepared the sauce. Alec didn’t find the exercise nearly as much fun as when he and magnus had cooked together. The small space hadn’t seemed to worry them as much as it did he and Raph. They seemed to be constantly under each other’s feet and it was making the vampire irritable. 

“You have no feeling for pasta, angel boy, I said al dente not half raw, there’s a difference.” He grumbled.

“Well excuse me for not being a chef de cuisine, Mr, er, whatever your last name is, I’m just a mechanic.” Alec bit back. 

“How do you know what a chef de cuisine is and it’s Santiago, thank you very much. Your much more than just a mechanic, Alexander, you’re going to have to get used to that idea.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What are you on about now?”

“You called me Alexander, don’t. Only Magnus gets to call me that.” Alec pouted at him and went back to stirring the tomato sauce.

“Well, excuse me, Mr Lightwood. Maybe I’ll find another name for you then, what about sweet cheeks?” 

Alec rounded on the vampire who was standing at the hotplates, cooking the meatballs and looking smug. The spoon he had been using in the large saucepan slipped into the sauce, causing Raphael to roll his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. Alec was right up in front of him, gripping the front of his shirt.

“You ever call me that again and so help me….” Alec growled at him, glaring down at him.

“Calm down, angel boy, before your halo is revoked.” Raphael spat back, his face half an inch from Alec’s. he saw Alec swallow and pull back slightly from him. He gave him an oily smile.

“What’s wrong, afraid I’ll taste test you instead of the sauce? You really need to get a grip, oxygen thief.” He gave a chuckle. 

Alec felt his blood boiling and gripped the front of his shirt tighter.

“And you need to get a grave, blood sucker.” He barked back. 

Raphael’s face looked thunderous and he pulled his lips back, flashing his perfect white teeth and his two needle sharp fangs, giving a menacing hiss. 

“Honestly, you two, I leave you alone for a few hours and this is what happens? Shame on you both.”

Alec’s head snapped around to see his boyfriend standing just inside the kitchen. He let go of Raphael’s shirt and crossed the small space that separated them. He wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled his face into his neck. He took in deep drafts of his most favorite scent in the world, au de Magnus Bane. Magnus looked at Raphael from over Alec’s shoulder and frowned.

“Have you been giving my handsome boy, a hard time, Raphael?” He said, his voice reproachful.

“No more than he gave me. Dinner shouldn’t be long, by the way.” Raph continued to cook.


	43. Chapter 43

The spaghetti had tasted really good and as much as it pained Alec to say so after their little spat while cooking it, he did tell Raphael that he enjoyed it. He was expecting some kind of smart remark back but he just gave him a slow nod of his head. After serving, Raph and disappeared into the small spare room and had returned about twenty minutes later to join them at the table.

After Alec had helped him clear the table, Magnus led Alec over to the sofa and they sat down together, Magnus nestling under Alec’s arm, putting his own hand just underneath the bottom of his shirt so he could feel his warm skin. He hummed in pleasure and moved as close as he could without actually climbing into his lap. Alec nosed the side of his face, putting small kisses along his hairline.

“How do you feel? Any better?” He asked him, softly.

“Much better now I’m here with you. I honestly don’t know how I managed to sleep all those centuries without you next to me, my love.” Magnus replied, his hand on his stomach playing with the soft downy hair that trailed down it.

“You were doing a pretty good impersonation of sleeping each time I checked on you, babe.” Alec laughed.

“Only because I knew that you were close. Not as close as I really wanted you to be, but it gave me comfort knowing you were near.” 

He brushed his lips to his, taking his bottom lip into his mouth before pulling away. Alec took in a sharp breath and started to drag him into his lap but Magnus wagged a finger in front of him.

“No, baby, we have work to do. Let’s find that friend of yours, shall we?” 

“Are you sure? Shouldn’t you rest for longer?” Alec looked worried.

“I’m sure I’ve rested long enough to track Jace. Did you bring his shirt from that rat’s nest of an apartment?” 

“Yeah, I’ll go and get it.” He gave Magnus a quick kiss and got up to retrieve the shirt.

When he left the room, Raphael came around from the kitchen.

“Are you sure about this? You really should give yourself more time.” He said, firmly.

“Raph, time is something we may not have too much of. If Valentine has done this, and I’m positive he has, he may of used some kind of self-limiting spell on Jace so that if something were to happen to him, Jace would only have a very small window of opportunity to be found.” 

Magnus kept his voice low, so Alec wouldn’t hear him. He didn’t want him to know any of this and cause him anymore worry than he already had.

“I see your point but, how long do you think he would of given him? It may be too late as it is.” Raph replied, his own voice barely above a whisper. 

Magnus put a hand on his cold arm.

“Let’s prey the man was feeling generous in that department, but let’s get on with this in case he wasn’t.” 

Raph gave a short nod just as Alec reappeared with the t shirt. Magnus took from him using only his thumb and index finger. 

“When all this is over, it may be a good idea to introduce your friend to a new invention they have now called the washing machine.” Magnus said, looking at Alec. 

His face looked like he had something wet and slimy in his hands instead of just a t shirt. He reached out to take Alec’s hand.

“I may need some of your strength, my love. I’m not sure how much power I have back and I might need a boost depending on how long this takes. If he’s close then it shouldn’t take long. Let’s just hope that’s the case or things might get a tad more difficult.”

He gave a weak smile but it didn’t extend to his eyes and Alec knew that he was concerned about this.   
He took a deep breath in and lay the shirt on the coffee table in front of them. He gave a click of his fingers and a blue misty flame appeared in his hand. It wasn’t quite as bright as it should have been but it was better than when he had tried to use it before. With strong concentration written all over his face, Magnus held his hand over Jace’s shirt and closed his eyes. Alec held his hand tightly, willing as much of his own strength into his hand as he possible could. Two minutes later, Magnus sat back, the blue flame of energy winking out. Alec and Raphael looked at him expectantly. Hopefully this meant good news for a change.

“Well, he’s close and you’ll never guess where.” Magnus told them. When he didn’t say anything else the other two gave him questioning looks. 

“Well, don’t leave us hanging, babe, where is he?” Alec said. 

“He’s at Lydia’s house. From the look of things, Valentine put him under a sleeping spell. I only got a quick glimpse of him but apart from that he looked alright.” Magnus told them.

Alec let out a relieved breath. Finally something had gone right for them.

“Well, let’s go and get him, then. I can distract Lydia while you break the spell.” Alec said, already heading for the door. 

When neither Magnus or Raphael moved, though, he knew something was up.

“Okay, what aren’t you telling me?” He said, hands on his hips.

“Waking someone out of one of these types of spells isn’t all that easy, I’m afraid my love. Val would of used dark magic to put it on him. The good news is I could break the spell but the bad news is I need that grimoire to do it.” Magnus looked towards Raphael and the vampire nodded his head.

“I’ll go back to the house to get it then. We can’t run the risk of you wasting anymore energy on a portal to get me there so I’ll take the car.” He said. 

Magnus rose from the sofa and put a hand on Raphael’s arm.

“We will be cutting it very fine time wise, old friend. You need to get there and back as soon as possible to beat the sunrise.” 

Magnus looked worriedly at him. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

“I will, I promise. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He assured Magnus and after a reassuring pat of his cold hand on his, he headed for the door. 

He paused in front of Alec before he went out.

“Watch him, don’t let him do anymore magic till he absolutely has to. I’m sure you can think of something to occupy your time till I get back.” He said leaning close, his voice low. Alec was tempted to come back with a smart remark but he managed to bite his tongue and just give a nod.


	44. Chapter 44

Raphael would have barely been to the end of the street when Magnus launched himself at Alec. He had been still facing the door way and had just turned around when his warlock boyfriend practically crash tackled him. Alec’s eyes went wide with both shock and surprise and he gave a “Oophff” as Magnus’ weight knocked the air out of his lungs. Before he could take a deep restorative breath, Magnus’ lips were on his, forcing his mouth wide with hard fevered kisses. Alec had staggered and he felt his back hit the closed door. The round knob digging into his lower back uncomfortably. As much as he was starting to enjoy this, they were going to have to take things elsewhere. 

He managed to get his hands in between them and put them flat on the warlock’s firm chest and with considerably more effort than it should have taken, prised his boyfriend’s lips from his.   
He looked back at his face and felt his legs turning to rubber. Dear God, he has his golden cat like eyes trained on him. The shone so brightly they looked like they were on fire. 

“Jesus, babe, you’re eyes are so beautiful.” He heard himself say, his lips, puffy and bright pink from the hard kisses. 

He ran the tip of his tongue over the bottom one and saw Magnus give a slow blink. Fuck, he wasn’t making this easy on him at all.

“Have you got your breath back?” Magnus asked him, running the tip of his index finger down the side of his face, a slow smile just curving his perfect mouth. 

Alec was trying very hard not to start drooling.

“Yeah.” He breath, he was just about to raise his hand to touch Magnus’ face when he pounced again, this time actually leaping onto his body, wrapping his arms and legs around tightly around Alec’s body like a koala in a tree.

Alec hadn’t thought that he could surprise him again so soon after the first onslaught be he had and he had little choice but to grab him back, his hands cupping both cheeks of his firm butt to support his weight. Magnus had latched onto his mouth once more this time allowing his tongue to explore the inside of his mouth and his lips. The hot wetness of the sensation was driving Alec crazy and he heard a moan rumble from him before he as even aware that he had made the noise himself. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered that Magnus was supposed to be taking it easy still.

“Hummm, ummm, “ He tried to say but it was hard get anything intelligent out. “Babe, hey.” Kiss, tongue. “Hey, aren’t y…” More kisses, more tongue. “You supposed t-t-to be….” Hard kiss, even more tongue accompanied with a pelvic grind that had him seeing stars. “Taking it easy?” 

The only reply he got was another hot wet kiss and the leg trembling feel of a slippery warm tongue playing with his own. Fuck, he was gonna drop him if he kept that up. He tried to form words to that effect but his mouth was otherwise occupied.  
Magnus left his mouth and began to trail his lips down over the rough stubble on his jaw, heading for his neck. Whoa, horsey! If he made it to that sweet spot on his neck while they were still standing, they’d both end up flat on the floor on their asses.

“Didn’t anybody tell you it’s rude to speak with your mouth full?’ Magnus drawled, his voice thick and at least three octaves deeper than usual. 

Alec let out a noise that was part laugh and growl of pleasure. Oh crap, he was almost there! He had to put the brakes on right now!  
Alec pulled his neck as far out of reach as he could when he was wearing Magnus’ super-heated body like a skin suit.

“Babe, if we don’t at least sit, we’re gonna end up on the floor.” He told him, his voice sounded pitchy from desire.

“I think a more horizontal position would work better, don’t you?” Magnus crooned his voice sounded smooth and rich like warm honey. 

Alec had to steady himself and close his eyes. The man was going to wreck him yet again. He felt touches on his chest and he opened his eyes and looked down to see Magnus working on the buttons of his shirt.

“Oh babe, don’t…..” he whined in frustration but then Magnus dipped his head and looked up at him with those sexy glowing eyes and gave him the filthiest smile he had ever seen, before poking out the tip of his tongue and lapping at the middle of his chest where he had been working on opening his shirt. That was it! He felt his legs turn to jelly and his hands under Magnus’ butt slipped. It was enough to make the warlock unlock his legs from his waist and put his feet on the floor.

“Hold up there, big guy. Perhaps I was pushing my luck a little there.” 

He let Alec go and the taking his hand, led him like a small child around to the sofa. Alec fell back into the soft surface and Magnus joined him, leaning over him putting feather light kisses on his lips but using forward momentum to force him to lie back. When Alec was finally stretched out full length on the sofa with Magnus laying on top of him, he reached up for the remaining fastened buttons on his shirt.

“Now, where was I? About here, I think.” He purred and his slender fingers worked on them. As he undid each one, he covered the place on his body that they had rested against with his mouth and tongue. 

Alec could feel himself being led down a path that he knew would end with them tangled in each other’s bodies and boy, did he want to go there, so bad but Magnus needed to conserve his energy for a while. He steeled his wits and started to sit up, grabbing his boyfriend’s head in his hands.

“Babe, no come on you need to take things easy. I don’t want you wearing yourself out so soon after the other night and we don’t know what we might be up against with Jace.” Alec said, looking into a face that was dreamy with the need they both felt. 

Magnus plonked his chin down in the middle of his chest and pouted out his bottom lip. Shit, he was gonna make him feel bad now. But he had to stick to his guns about this.  
“Baby, I’ll take it easy, I promise just please, let me have you?” Magnus pleaded, making puppy dog eyes at his boyfriend. 

Dear God, the man was impossible. Alec had to squeeze his eyes tightly shut and wage a war within himself before answering.

“No, Magnus, come on, don’t make me feel bad about this and stop with the eyes. You know how much they turn me on. That’s not fighting fair.” Alec sat up further and wrestled his legs out from under him and put them on the floor.

Magnus sat back with a sigh but as soon as Alec had sat back against the sofa he smirked to himself and sidled up to him, rubbing his face up his chest and into his neck, nuzzling him right where he knew would do the most damage. Alec couldn’t help the big goofy grin that spread across his face and he could feel giggles starting to work their way up from deep within him as he felt that crazy wonderful feeling of Magnus’ goatee tickling his sensitive skin. As soon as the bubbles of mirth broke free from him, Magnus hummed happily against him and took it as a sign of him weakening and started into him with his tongue and teeth. Alec’s giggles quickly turned into groans and he could feel himself giving into his man’s way too pleasurable actions. He heard him laugh against his neck.

“I knew you’d give in eventually, my angel.” He was working his way up to his rough jaw and heading for his ear. Alec gave a groan of frustration and pulled back.

“No, I’m not, now behave yourself. Look, let’s watch TV, get your mind on something else.” 

He reached for the remote and clicked on the screen. An old action movie was on and he settled himself, trying to concentrate. Fat chance of that happening when your horny boyfriend was doing his damnedest to distract you. He felt a hand creeping into the opening of his shirt, fingers playing with the soft hair. Watch the movie, watch the movie, oh look, someone just got jumped I hope he’s okay. The tip of a warm wet tongue traced the shell of his ear, sending involuntary shivers through him. Watch the movie, don’t give in, oh good, the guy that got jumped is up on his feet and laying into the bad guys. Soft breaths of warm air on his damp ear had him closing his eyes tightly and gritting his teeth. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, how much longer was he going to be able to hold out for? A deep chuckle right in his ear told him Magnus knew exactly what was happening to him.

“You play dirty, do you know that? Can’t you keep your hands to yourself?” 

His voice sounded whiny and high pitched from the strain of trying to not give in. Magnus chose that moment to go in for the kill.  
He flashed those golden demon eyes of his right at him before his hand left the inside of his shirt and went straight for the bulge in his jeans, squeezing firmly. His lips sat right on the outside of his ear.

“Oh baby, you don’t really want me to do that, do you?” 

He tightened his grip and had Alec moaning loudly, moving restlessly in his spot. Now for the kicker.  
The tip of that hot pink tongue filled his ear for a few breathtaking seconds and then Magnus’ buttery voice filled it instead.

“I want to be inside you, right fucking now.” It had the effect of a velvet glove over a steel hand and Alec knew he was a gonner.

Alec was completely powerless now. Any fight that had been in him earlier had vanished and he closed his eyes, his head back and hands going to thread through the styled spikes of Magnus’ hair.

“Finally you’re seeing sense, my angel. You know you never had a chance, didn’t you?” magnus said softly as he started working on the buckle of Alec’s belt.

“Magic or not you seem to have me under your spell, Mr Bane and I’m happy to be there.” Alec replied, his voice soft and dreamy. 

Magnus smiled. Just the way he liked it.  
He pulled his belt out of the loops and then undid the button and zipper. He sat back and tugged the jeans and underwear down over his hips, exposing his heavy erection to the cool air. His skin reacted to the sudden change in temperature with goose flesh, everywhere but the super headed skin of his groin. Magnus looked hungrily at his mostly bare form, laid out before him.

“You truly are beautiful, my angel. How I got so lucky as to have you in my life I’ll never know but be forever grateful for.” 

Alec felt his face heating and he turned to bury his head into the back of the sofa. Magnus leaned back down to rest his body onto him and reached up a hand to force Alec’s face back to his. He waggled a finger at him, giving him the tsk, tsk , tsk sound as he smiled but frowned back at him.

“Haven’t you learnt not to do that yet? You know I love it when you blush.” Magnus told him.

“Sorry, old habits and all that. You look like you have way too many clothes on, babe. Allow me to help you out of them.” 

Alec started to sit up, pushing Magnus back so he was sitting on his haunches between his legs.  
After shrugging out of his own shirt, he reached for Magnus’ and undid the buttons, pushing his hands up his chest and over his shoulders, causing the soft silky material of the shirt to fall back off his coffee colored skin. He pulled him closer by putting a hand to the back of his neck and joined his lips to his. While their mouths were kept busy, Alec went to work on the button and zip of Magnus’ black pants and quickly made short work of them. He reached around and slid his hands into the back of the waist band and over each smooth butt cheek, giving each a squeeze. Magnus groaned into his mouth and Alec heard him draw in a breath, deepening their kiss.  
He slowly started to push him back down so he was covering his firm body once again. He squirmed his smooth chest over Alec’s hairy one.

“Humm, I love the feel of you under me.” He told him, heading for his neck.

“Funny, I was going to say the same thing.” Alec replied, his voice light with happiness. 

Alec worked his legs completely free of his jeans and shoes and draped one long leg over the back of the sofa the other laying cross his lover’s lower back. His eyes were closed again and his face blissfully relaxed as Magnus lavished his full attention on his favorite spot on his neck. With each playful nip and swirl of wet tongue, he felt himself thrusting up against his hardened length making both of them moan and tighten their grip on each other.   
Alec hadn’t taken any notice of Magnus hand leaving the side of his face until he heard the familiar sound of a sharp click. His eyes flew open and he turned his head to see a blue flame dancing on his fingertips.

“Magnus! No, babe! No magic! You’re going to need it to wake up Jace.” 

Alec reached out his hand and clamped it over Magnus’ extinguishing the shimmering flame.

“What were you doing that for anyway?” He asked, frowning.

“Just finishing the job you started, my love.” Magnus told him, looking back over his shoulder at his loosened pants. Alec rolled his eyes.

“All you had to do was asked, Magnus.” 

Alec hooked a foot under the waist band and started to push them down over his backside. Magnus chuckled and raised himself up so that the pants slid further down his thighs.   
“I had no idea you were so flexible, my angel. That may come in handy sometime.” 

Magnus leaned up on his chest, his fingers playing with the soft cloud of hair that covered it. 

“Seems all that time climbing around in tight spaces has paid off.” Alec smiled.

Magnus tilted his hips and Alec felt the broad head of his cock right at his entrance.

“Speaking of tight spaces…….” He went to thrust forward but Alec tensed, making him still.

“Shouldn’t we get…….” Alec started to say but Magnus kissed him.

“I know what you were going to say but please, baby. Let me experience you with no barriers. I love you so much and I want to have this with you.” Magnus said softly, gently rubbing the tip of his nose along his cheek. 

Alec looked at him and nodded his consent. He was nervous and he didn’t know why. It wasn’t their first time making love but it was a first for this.

“If you feel uncomfortable at any time I want you to say, okay, Alexander?” Magnus said and he took his weight on his arms so he could see his face.

Alec bit his bottom lip and nodded, trying to relax beneath him. He felt him slowly push forward once again, breaching the firm ring of muscle. He took in a sharp breath as he felt the resistant burn. Magnus stilled.

“Are you okay, my love? Do you want me to stop?” 

Alec shook his head. Magnus trust forward once more and inch by inch Alec felt his body accepting him and he relaxed into it. Magnus groaned and felt forward, his cheek rubbing against his chest.

“God, my angel, you have no idea how good that feels. You fit me like a glove.” He whispered and slowly began to move. 

Alec began to whimper under him, his own hard cock sandwiched against their muscled stomachs. With every movement, he felt the delicious drag against him and it was like getting pleasure from two places at once and it was making him want to scream from the sheer need for it. Magnus buried his face into his neck and sucked at the pulse point, drawing the skin into his mouth. Alec did cry out then but not from pain. 

He continued to mouth the soft skin and the underside of his jaw, loving the way his scruffle tickled the sensitive skin of his lips. Alec moved beneath him, tilting his pelvis up to meet each thrust. He felt his heavy lidded eyes close and he sank his fingers into the heated skin of Magnus’ working back muscles. Magnus reached up and took his face in his hands.

“Don’t close your eyes, baby I want to see them when you come.” He breathed. 

At his words Alec could feel himself screaming to the finish line but he didn’t want this heavenly feeling to stop, it was too soon. He tried to hold back but he was passed the point of no return and they both knew it. Magnus pulled back and slammed into him hitting something deep within him that made him cry out and see stars causing the deepest pleasure he had ever experienced.

“Come with me, baby I want us to get there together.” 

Magnus strained through gritted teeth as his own body felt like it was soaring towards the heavens. One more hard thrust was all it took to send them both imploding and exploding. Alec cried out Magnus’ name as he felt surge after surge of liquid warmth filling him deep within his body, spreading throughout him making his bones feel like they had melted. 

Magnus was crushed against him as he kept repeating I love you, I love you over and over again as his own body burned from pleasure. The exquisite feeling of Alec’s hot body engulfing him and feeling him coat their stomachs with his equally warm essence made for an experience like no other he’d ever had. He had watched his angel as he came apart and he felt like he had seen something divine that had almost brought him to tears it was so pure. 

They lay together on the sofa, chest heaving and bodies shiny with a thin film of sweat. Neither of them could speak, too lost in their own shared piece of heaven for words.   
Alec felt his beloved’s lazy kisses against his skin and smiled. He wanted desperately to squeeze him tightly to him but he just didn’t have the strength. It was a good five minutes before either of them was able to speak.

“Sweet Jesus, that was so.. so…” Alec said, his voice tight from his dry throat.

“I know, right? No words, baby, no words. I’m pretty sure I touched nirvana for a few seconds at some point.” Magnus breathed, he was still trying to regulate his breathing and his heartbeat. 

Alec gave a small laugh and managed to finally be able to exert some pressure from his arms that were draped over Magnus. 

“I think we may have to stay here forever cause I don’t think I can move.” He drawled.

“Fine by me, my angel. I’ve never felt so relaxed in my entire life.” 

He sounded like he was drifting off. Alec felt his own eyelids closing and he let them, lulled to sleep by the sound of Magnus’ soft regular breaths against him and the comforting weight of his body.


	45. Chapter 45

Magnus had no idea of the time was when his eyes slowly opened once more. He smiled to himself as he still felt the warmth of Alec beneath him. he moved his face so he could feel the softness of his skin on his own and then realized that the heat was above him as well. 

He eased up and saw that a throw rug had been laid over them at some point. How the hell… oh shit, Raphael. He must of gotten home and found them asleep. He gave an awkward grimace to the empty room before he felt one corner of his mouth turn up in a half grin. He couldn’t help thinking about what Raphael’s face must have been like when he walked in the door and seen them. That would have been something. He had no intentions of telling Alec though. His poor angel would turn a hundred different shades of pink and it had been too special a night for them both to have it marred in any way. But they needed to get up and get going. Magnus slowly lifted himself off Alec, immediately missing the skin to skin contact they had been sharing for hours. 

As he watched, he saw Alec stir, his brow creasing. His body missing the feeling of his boyfriend’s weight. Magnus knelt down beside the sofa and put soft kisses on the tip of his nose and each cheek before finally reaching his mouth, giving his puffy lips a touch with the tip of his tongue. Alec’s creased brow relaxed and he smiled beneath the kiss, reaching for his love.

“Hey, handsome, we have to get up. Raph’s back and we can’t waist too much more time.” Magnus whispered softly to him as his eyes flickered open. 

“I wish we could just stay here and repeat last night all over again.” he said, running the back of his fingers down Magnus’ face. He smiled and caught his hand in his bringing it to his lips.

“Once this is over, we can do that every day of the week, my love but first, we have a rescue to attend to.” Magnus got up and held out a hand to him. 

Alec sighed and took it, rising to stand in front of his man, allowing him to wrap them both in the throw rug.   
After a few more lazy soft kisses they headed for the bathroom and showered. They slipped across the hall and into Alec’s bedroom to dress before going out to the kitchen to make coffee.   
The grimoire was sitting on the counter. Magnus picked it up, rubbing his palm over the scared leather surface of the cover.

‘So much trouble over an old book.” He said softly, mostly to himself. Alec came up beside him and handed him a steaming cup. He put the battered old book down and took it from him.

“What I wouldn’t give to of stayed I bed, wrapped round you.” Alec sighed, standing behind him and nuzzling into the short spikey hair near his ear. Magnus leaned back into him with a smile.

“Now you’re the mind reader, my angel. I was thinking the same thing myself. I still feel like I’m walking about two feet off the ground.” 

Alec gave a soft laugh and kissed the side of his face just as Raphael came out to them. There were dark smudges under his eyes from lack of sleep. He obviously had a rougher night than they had.  
He was hanging back in the dim hallway and Alec was about to ask why when realised it was because of the open curtains on the window, the sunlight streaming in through them. He went over and pulled the heavy drapes across, blocking the bright glare. Raphael gave him a nod of thanks before joining them in the living room. 

“You two look way too pleased with yourselves, this morning. I thought I said not to exert yourself too much?” He said to Magnus, leaning against the door frame of the kitchen.

“I believe the instructions were no magic. Although it felt like there was some involved, wouldn’t you say, my angel?” Magnus said, looking towards a very red faced Alec with his eyebrows raised. 

Alec looked back at him, with a look that said, you don’t expect me to answer that do you? He just gave a flash of a grin before becoming very interested in his cup of coffee.

“Oh now look what you have done, Raph, my beautiful boy is all embarrassed again. Be careful Alexander, you know what that does to me.” He said, his voice low and deep. 

Alec almost choked on a mouthful of coffee and looked at his boyfriend.

“Seriously? Babe, please, enough.” He coughed, wiping a few drops of spluttered coffee from his shirt.

“Yes, babe, please. And next time you pair want to play doctor do you think you could keep it in the bedroom? I now know where that saying sight for sore eyes originated. You might only keep memories for about sixty or seventy years I get to have them forever.” Raphael said in his best monotone voice looking from Magnus to Alec.

“I was just testing my angel’s stamina and I can say he passed with flying colours.” Magnus beamed at Alec who really wished he would stop, Right now. 

“Looked more like a prostate exam to me but what do I know.” Raphael said, inspecting his fingernails like he was bored out of his mind.

When Alec chocked for the second time on his coffee he gave up and went into the kitchen, glaring at the vampire as he passed him. Raphael flashed a toothy grin at him, making sure his fangs were on show. Alec gave a start taking a step back and bumping into the opposite door frame with a thud. Raphael gave a smothered chuckle and looked away.

“Can you two play nice please, we are going to need to work together on this.” Magnus said, irritably. 

Alec put his cup in the sink and went back to the living room, giving the brooding Raphael a wide birth. 

“Raph, you are going to have to sit this one out. You can’t go out in sunlight and if we leave it till it gets dark, it might be too late.” Magnus told his old friend. 

Raphael looked frustrated but he nodded his head in agreement. An idea came to Alec but it was sticking in his throat. It might have been a way for the vampire to go with them but he had to ask himself, did he really want him to come? Magnus was walking towards the door and had his hand on the knob before he said anything.   
At the end of the day, Raphael knew more about Magnus’ powers than he did and if it meant giving Jace more of a chance to survive all this that he was willing to put up with a few snide remarks every now and then.

“Wait, so what’s the deal with Raphael’s skin in sunlight? I mean, would he be hurt if he was covered?” He asked. 

Magnus gave him a surprised look and Raphael looked like she was about to fall down from shock.

“I can only get hurt if the sun touches my skin directly, if I was covered, then no, I would be alright for a short while. The heat will eventually burn my skin though. Why would you want to know that? Trying to get rid of the third wheel, are we?” Raphael sneered. 

Alec gave him a sour look. 

“No, Mr Fangtastic, I was thinking that if we could cover your skin enough you could come with us. Lydia’s place is about twenty minutes away, is that too long?” He looked from the vampire to Magnus, who was looking hopeful. 

“Alexander, I think you might of hit on a winning idea. If he was covered, we could get out to the car with no problem and he would be covered for the trip to Lydia’s by the tinted windows of the car. We would just have to make all the curtains were drawn once we got there. It’s a big risk, though. It’s up to Raph.” 

Magnus and Alec looked at him, waiting for his answer. 

“Just to be clear, I’m doing this to help Magnus. I could care less about your scruffy friend.” Raphael said, squaring his shoulders. 

Alec opened his mouth to say something back but Magnus gave him a shake of his head.   
Raphael was already wearing a long sleeve shirt and black pants so Alec went into his room and came back with a pair of gloves and a hooded jacket. The jacket swam on him but the gloves fit fairly well. 

“You’d fit right in down town. You look like you’re about to knock over a convenience store.” Alec said, smiling. 

The large black hood made the vampire’s already pale skin even whiter.

“As long as this woman’s neighbors don’t think I’m breaking into her house and call the police I should be fine.” 

“You could always tell them you’ve developed a taste for crime and not blood.” Alec offered. Raphael shot him a look.

“Yes, because that’s what I told the last cop that tried to arrest me once right before I drained him.” 

Raph ran the tip of his tongue over the needle like points of his fangs while looking directly at him. It sent a chill down his spine and he gave a snort of laughter.

“This isn’t helping gentlemen, let’s go.” Magnus said, and opened the door. 

They made it to the bottom of the stair well before Raphael begrudgingly handed over the keys to the Audi to Alec and he left to bring the car around to the front of the building. As soon as he was there, Raphael pulled the sides of the hood over as much of his face as he could and keeping his head pointed down, he used his vampire speed to get to the car. Magnus followed and the sped off.

They got to Lydia’s house with little trouble. Alec had managed to avoid the morning traffic for the most part. He pulled the car up right near the front door so Raphael wouldn’t be exposed for very long. Just before they went to go in he thought of something.

“Has anyone thought about Lydia? I mean, surely she would of noticed Jace being in her house, under a spell. What if Valentine did something to her as well? “ He asked Magnus.

“Yes, there is a few possibilities about Miss Branwell. Obviously, Val chose her place because he knew her and knew where she lived, so it was convenient for him. There is a more than reasonable chance that he has done something to her but let’s just hope it’s nothing too final, if you get my meaning. As much as I get jealous thinking of your exes, my love, I still don’t wish them any harm. Let’s just deal with it as it presents itself, shall we?’ 

Magnus got out of the car first and then Alec. They went up to the door and Magnus went to use his magic to open it but Alec tried the handle first. They looked at each other with worried expressions when it turned easily in his hand the door swung open.   
Magnus went inside carefully, checking that the curtains were drawn and listening for any signs of life but the house was silent. Too silent for his liking.  
Alec signalled Raphael and once again using his vamp speed he go out of the car and into the house. Alec closed the door as quietly as he could and Raphael held up a hand to signal them to stay still so he could pick up the slightest of sounds.

He pointed a gloved finger to the ceiling and they headed for the stairs. When they reached the top one, Magnus put a hand out to stop Alec gong any further. He looked over at Raphael and he nodded knowing what his friend wanted him to do. They started checking doors on the rooms off the landing before heading down the short hall way towards the master bedroom.

They reached the closed door and Raphael put a protective hand on Magnus’ chest and gave a nod. He was picking up two heartbeats in the room and he held up a couple of fingers. Magnus spoke barely above a whisper, knowing Raph would be able to hear him.

I’ll open the door and see what happens, just get ready for anything, if that’s even possible.” He told him and Raphael pulled the hood off his head and readied himself. 

Magnus was about to produce his magic when a small noise behind them made them turned sharply. Alec had crept up the hall to join them. Magnus touched his arm and pointed in the direction from where he had just come from meaning he wanted him out of harm’s way but Alec frowned and shook his head. Magnus could feel his stubbornness through their bond and knew he had no intentions of giving in so he pushed him behind him and hoped that he was smart enough to stay there.

He hoped the sharp click of his fingers to produce the flame of energy wasn’t going to make things difficult and he took a breath and then held out his hand. The sharp sound seemed much louder than it really was in the quiet house and the blue flame of energy burned bright, much to Alec’s relief. Magnus was back to full power. Raphael held up a hand to stop Magnus going any further.

“One of them just reacted to that. Their heartbeat just picked up, be ready.” He warned. Magnus took a deep breath and Alec tried to steady his own racing heartbeat.

Magnus pushed his hand forward and in a split second the door knob turned and the door flew open.


	46. Chapter 46

Raphael and Magnus were the first in the room. Before Alec could follow a rush of movement and a scream of anger ripped through the quiet and he saw them turn in the direction of the sound. He flew forward just in time to see a crazed Lydia coming at the man he loved and the vampire with a large knife raised in her hand. Raphael reacted first and in a   
a blur of movement, he met her head on, colliding with her with an audible dull thud. They fell to the floor, the vampire weighing her down, her screams of frustration and anger filling the room. Raphael had grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the knife and pinned it up above her head. He banged the hand on the floor twice before Lydia finally gave into the pain of his vice like grip and let it go to allow it to clatter to the floor. Alec rushed to them and picked the knife up. He stood above them, his breathing coming in hard gasps.

“Let her go! You’re hurting her!” He yelled, grabbing the back of Raphael’s collar.

“If I let her go, she’ll come at us again! Can’t you see she’s been put under some kind of spell?” 

Raphael growled back at him, not taking his eyes from the screaming, snarling face of Lydia Branwell.

Magnus came over to them. He put a hand gently on one of Alec’s bunched shoulders.

“It’s alright, Alexander, I can reverse this. Val obviously did this to her so she could be a guard dog. He probably thought that you would come after Jace and Lydia would be able to attack you.” 

For the first time since entering the room, Alec’s eyes went to the bed. Jace was lying on his back, still and silent. A shimmering caul covered his entire body like a elongated bubble. His arms and legs were moving slightly like he was lying on a body of water. It was then that he realized that Jace’s body was actually suspended about a foot above the bed itself. If he hadn’t been so concerned about his friend’s condition, he would have found the scene fascinating.

“Magnus….” He started to say but his boyfriend cut him off.

“I know, angel, it’s alright. We can fix him but first, we have to deal with Valentine’s hell cat here.”

Lydia hadn’t stopped thrashing and fighting for one second. Her normally perfectly styled hair and made up face looked like she had stood in the middle of a tornado. Long golden strands covered her sweaty, pale face. Her eyes looked way too large for her face and there were dark circles under each one, her cheeks looks hollow. Her lips were pulled back, snarling as she tried to fight against Raphael’s weight on her. Her fury didn’t let up as her body writhed and her legs kicked uselessly on the carpeted floor. She brought her knee up with as much force as she could and rammed it into the vampire’s back and it jolted him forward and he gave a grunt. He hissed back at the flailing woman below him his lips pulled back his teeth and fangs flashing at her menacingly.

“Raph, don’t. She’s not herself. Stand her up. Let me see if I can bring back our mild mannered librarian.” Magnus told him. 

Raphael started to pull himself up while still gripping Lydia’s arms. He had just about gotten to his feet when she brought her knee up and got him right in the crotch. He gave a yelp of pain and instinctively started to double up. He must of loosened his grip on her slightly but it was enough for her to wrench her arms free and Magnus was directly in front of her. With a shrill scream that left all their ears ringing, she came at him, hands held out in front of her, fingers claw like. Alec didn’t even think he just threw himself between them. Lydia connected with him and racked her fingernails across his face. Three livid red lines instantly appeared on one cheek, blood welling to the surface. Alec hissed from the stinging pain but didn’t move from is place and reached out to grip Lydia’s arms. 

It surprised him how strong she was. It was taking considerable effort to keep her at bay. She lashed out with one booted foot, trying to connect it to his shin or knee but he managed to dodge her. Raphael came up behind her and took her arms from behind, rendering her useless. More howls of anger and frustration filled the room as Alec let his grip on her go. Raphael’s face was thunderous and he looked paler than normal. A light sheen of sweat made his skin shine in the dull light. Luckily the drapes had been left closed because none of them had time to check. Magnus moved around to face Alec, his face a mask of concern for his man. He gently tilted his head with his fingers, inspecting the damage. Alec pulled away. He was breathless from the effort he’s just had to exert holding Lydia.

“I’m fine, fix her.” He gasped, pointing at the struggling mad woman that Raphael was constraining.

Magnus turned towards her and he gave a click of his fingers, producing the battered leather book. He held his hand above its surface and mumbled words in a language Alec had never heard before. The book flipped open, the pages ruffling like they were being blown by a strong breeze. Magnus’ eyes were closed in concentration and he stood stock still, his hand still hovering over the riffling pages, his voice barely audible over Lydia’s constant cacophony of screams and growls of anger.

Suddenly the pages stilled and Magnus’ eyes opened and he stopped speaking. He directed his hand so that the palm faced the possessed Lydia, the blue magical energy hovering in a haze before him.  
He began to recite from the book. It sounded like Latin but Alec could be sure. His voice gradually became louder and the blue haze widened and shimmered brighter. Lydia seemed to be getting even more agitated and Raphael grimaced as he tightened his grip on her. It was almost as if she knew what was about to happen and was fighting with everything she had to stop it.

Magnus’ voice rose loudly, filling the room and as he read the last few lines on the page, the haze of magic shot forward, hitting Lydia in the middle of her chest. Her whole body stiffened and thrust forward, her eyes wide and mouth wide open in a silent scream. It was the first time since they had gotten there that she hadn’t been yelling at the top of her lungs. She crumpled, her body just letting go as if it were boneless. Raphael followed her down to the floor, supporting her enough so that she didn’t hit the surface with a thud. He lay her out on the carpet, smoothing the hair off her sweaty sallow skin with gentle fingers. He straightened her arms to lay the by her sides and then her bent legs. He was gazing down at her still form like he had never seen her before and she was some precious fragile object. 

Alec raised his eyebrows and looked back at Magnus who had noticed as well and he gave him a look back that said he was just as surprised as confused as he was. Raphael was still pulling fine strands of hair back from her face when Magnus cleared his throat and looked away, slight amusement made his lips twitch. Alec just shook his head, looking even more confused than he had been a minute before.

“I think we should get Jace back to Alexander’s apartment before we start trying to wake him. Lydia’s wild woman act may have been heard by the neighbours and I really don’t want to try to explain why she is passed out on the floor along with Jace hovering in mid-air equally unconscious. I can portal them both back if you take the car, Alexander.” Magnus said to him. 

Alec was still trying to get his head around Raphael’s apparent fascination with Lydia. He obviously hadn’t been listening to a word his boyfriend had said and Magnus had to clear his throat again and call his name before he broke his gaze. Once he repeated his plans, Alec agreed and started heading for the door.

“What about Lydia, we can’t just leave her here.” He said, just as he reached the doorway.

“She’s coming with us, of course.” 

Raphael’s reply was immediate and his deep voice had that no nonsense tone that he used when he meant business. Alec raised an eyebrow, and puled one side of his mouth up. Magnus looked back at the vampire and the still woman on the floor and took in a sharp breath. 

“Alright, then. That seems to be settled. Not that I would of left the poor creature here on her own anyway.” Just before his left the doorway he thought he heard the vampire’s deep voice mumble something quietly but he shook his head. No, he was hearing things cause he used the word beautiful.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to add a small note of thanks to all my readers. I reached 10 000 hits today and the number is still climbing. I still can't believe how much this fic has been liked. The comment I've gotten have been fantastic. So thank you very much for to all my readers, i really appreciate your comments and support.

By the time Alec had parked the Audi and gotten up to his apartment, Magnus and Raphael had already arrived. Jace was hovering in his shimmering bubble of magic above the surface of the sofa. 

“Where’s….” He started to say.

“Miss Branwell is on the spare bed. She’s fine. Just worn out. I don’t think the poor girl had slept in days. Apparently Val wanted a twenty four seven guard.” 

Alec noticed that Raphael was hovering at the entrance to the hall way taking nervous glances in the direction of the spare room. What the heck was going on with him? Alec shook his head to clear it. He had enough to think about at the moment with waking Jace up. 

“So where do we start with Jace?” He asked Magnus, going over to stand beside him.

“I have to establish what spell Val used before anything else, then we have a starting point.” 

He gave his fingers a click and the blue magical flame winked into life. He held a hand over the liquid looking bubble surrounding Jace’s body, passing it slowly from his head to his feet. The misty blue magic made the surface ripple like a pebble thrown into a pond. 

“This is very strong magic. I have no idea how Valentine knew how to perform such a spell but it’s dark, very dark. I just hope the grimoire give us the counter spell for it.” 

With another snap of his fingers the book in question landed in his hands.

As he had at Lydia’s house, he held his palm over it, the worn leather cover flapping open and the sound of flicking pages filled the living room as Alec and Raphael stood waiting and hoping for answers. Alec started to feel the chill of fear running it’s cold fingers up his spine as he watched page after page turn over. Please God, let Magnus find the right spell, he thought to himself as he watched with baited breath. When the pages had mounted thickly on the left hand side, the book fell still and Alec heard his boyfriend let out a relieved breath. He felt his shoulders loosening from the tension that had bunched them tightly up near his ears almost. He watched Magnus as he ran a finger down the page, his mouth silently forming words that Alec had no hope of understanding. He looked and felt troubled and the fearful feeling prickled his skin again.

“What is it? Did you find the spell?” He asked him.

“I found it and it requires a number of different elements, most of which I have back in my work room but there’s one item that is going to prove difficult to source.” 

Magnus told him.

“What is it? Which one?” 

“It’s Adamis, the same thing your seraph blade is made from.” Magnus replied.

“That’s not a problem, just use the blade from the dagger then.” Alec didn’t see the problem at all.

“No, my angel, we can’t do that. There is no way I will allow you or anyone else to destroy that weapon. It’s way too valuable.”

“But so is my friend, Magnus. I’d do anything to save him.” Alec said, forcefully.

His eyes were shiny with unshed tears. Magnus could feel his pain and anguish. He took him in his arms, placing the open book down on the coffee table first.

“It’s alright, baby. I know you’re worried about Jace and frankly so am I but that blade is unique and just as precious. I’ll do my best to find the Adamis, I promise.” 

He tilted his head and kissed him, feeling a small amount of his sadness leave his body. 

“Right, what can I do to help, there must be something.” Alec asked, his face set in a hard mask of determination.

“Do you think you could go to the house and get what I need from there? It’s too far for Raphael to travel, covered or not and I don’t want to wait till it’s dark. Every second is going to count here. While you’re away, I’ll try to some of my contacts in the down world and try to find the Adamis.” Magnus asked him.

“No problem, just give me a list, preferably in English.” Alec replied and with a click of his fingers, Magnus produced a piece of paper that looked very much like parchment and an elegant black pen. 

He copied the list of ingredients he needed from the book and handed it to Alec. Magnus had very ornate handwriting. The script looked like it should have been on a wedding invitation not a supernatural grocery list. He explained each of the items to Alec, telling him where to find them and what they looked like. Alec kissed him before he headed out the door and down to the car. 

Alec glided the sleek black car through the afternoon traffic and out on the open road where he made good time to Magnus’ abandoned looking house. The gaping hole made by the demon was still there. Magnus had been too weak to fix it before they had to leave.

It felt strange being there alone. The place didn’t have the same feel to it when Magnus wasn’t there. He headed for the stairs and paused on the first one, looking up into the gloom of the first floor. This was where he stood only three weeks before the first time he had seem Magnus. He could still remember the thrill that had run through his body as he slowly emerged from the shadows on the stairs. His mouth had gone dry and his stomach had knotted and the feeling had scared the shit out of him. Until then he had long been in denial over who he was but all it had taken was one sight of that tall, muscled frame and that beautiful face with its slanted eyes and perfect lips for all his walls he had been building for so long to come crashing down around his ears. 

So much had happened since then, they hadn’t really had a chance just to be together like a normal couple. Alec have a short chuckle. Normal couple, ha, that was a joke. They would never be normal. A warlock and a half angel would never fit neatly into a slot that society had carved out. Once he would of run a mile from the prospect of colouring outside the lines so far but now he just didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought. The people that mattered to him the most had accepted him and Magnus and that’s all that mattered. 

The only nagging doubt he had was over his parents. But even that didn’t faze him as much as it had a couple of weeks ago. Magnus was a part of his life now and if they couldn’t accept him or the way he chose to live his life that it would be their loss. He gave a shiver, dragging himself out of his own thoughts and started up the stairs.  
It had been relatively easy to find the things that had were on the list. Magnus hadn’t specified quantities so he just grabbed the glass jars that held each one. Most of the things looked like herbs of some kind. Alec had even taken the lid off a couple of the jars and given them a sniff. One wasn’t too bad but the other one had him pulling his head back and coughing. The strong pungent smell robbing him of his breath. After that he decided not to do anymore investigating.

He found an empty crate in the attic and put the jars in it and then headed for the car.

By the time he made it back to the apartment it was late afternoon. He wanted to cross his fingers as he ran up the stairs with the crate for extra luck with Magnus’ search for the final ingredient. He made it to his door and it opened before he could juggle the key and the crate in his hands.   
He could tell right away that Magnus hadn’t been successful in his search. It misted around him like a fog. He felt his hopes plummet to the ground as he walked in and put the crate on the coffee table.

“You had no luck, did you?” He asked him but he already knew the answer, he just needed it confirmed. 

Magnus came up to him and leaned into his body, shaking his head. Alec held him close. He could tell how much this was tearing at his boyfriend. He had the feeling that Magnus Bane was a near stranger in the land of defeat. When you are a warlock of his abilities, there wasn’t too much you couldn’t overcome but it seemed a single lump of a rare rock was going to be the cause of something equally as scarce, failure for Magnus. He could only imagine what this meant for Jace. Would he have to endure the sight of his best friend encapsulated in a viscus looking shroud for the rest of his life? He prayed it wouldn’t be the case.


	48. Chapter 48

A distressed cry from the end of the hall had the three of them running down to the spare room. Raphael had reached the door first but hesitated before turning the handle. He looked back at Alec.

“It might be better for you to go in there first. She’s going to be upset and disorientated so a familiar face would probably be advisable.” Raphael said. 

Alec nodded and moved in front of him and carefully turned the handle.  
Lydia was sitting up on the bed, clutching the blanket that had been covering her. Her eyes were large and frightened and she was shaking with sobs. When she saw Alec she flew from the bed and launched herself at him, clinging to his body as if he was going to vanish at any minute.

He held her feeling her body shaking against his. It was a good five minutes before she finally pulled back from him to look up into his face. She still looked scared out of her wits and her skin, while it wasn’t quite as white as it had been at her house earlier that day, was far from its usual healthy color. Her cheeks were damp from tears and her long blond hair was in a messy cloud around her face.

“H-h-how did I get here? And why can’t I remember the last three days, Alec? What’s happened to me?” she stammered, her voice wavering with fright.

“I think you need to sit down, Lydia. You’ve been through a rough time.” Alec said, leading her back to the bed and pushing lightly on her shoulders to get her to sit. 

Her eyes suddenly grew wider.

“What happened to you? Your face!” She said, looking at the red scratches on his cheek. Alec had forgotten all about them.

“Oh, it’s nothing, I’m fine. What was the last thing you remember, Lydia?” He asked her. 

There was no way he was going to tell her that it had been her that had caused his injury.  
Her eyes flickered back and forth as she searched her memory for the answer.

“I’d been out on my date with Valentine, the book buyer guy. We had a really nice time, he was so charming and nice. A bit too nice, actually. He drove me home and then asked about that book Magnus had bought from me and I told him that it had already been sold.” She gave an extra shudder at the memory. “That’s when he changed. Honestly, it was like he was a completely different person. He kept asking me where you where and how he could get hold of you. I remember him grabbing my arms.”

She rubbed her hands on her biceps like she could still feel his touch. 

“I told him to let me go and to leave and that’s the last thing I remember. Alec, what’s going on? Who was he and why did he want that book so badly?” 

She was searching his face for answers and Alec was unsure what to tell her.   
They heard a soft knock at the door and they both turned to see Magnus’ head appear around the edge of it. Alec felt some of the pressure evaporate from his gut. He obviously had felt his unease and had come to his rescue yet again. Thank God for their bond.

“Is it alright if I come in?” Magnus asked. 

Lydia nodded and scrubbed her face with her hands, wiping her tears away.  
Magnus sat on her other side and took her hand, giving her a light smile. 

“Lydia, I don’t want to overwhelm you with this right now. You’ve been through enough for a few days I think. But I just want to tell you that you have my sincere apologies for dragging you into all this. Valentine was an old associate of mine and he was desperate to get his hands on that book but not for the same reasons I wanted it. If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess.” 

Lydia looked down at herself and ran her fingers through her messy hair. Her cheeks colored with embarrassment and she looked down at her hands, knotting them in her lap.

“Oh my dear, I didn’t mean you’re a mess I meant the situation. It wasn’t fair for Val to include you in this, it had nothing to do with you.” Magnus gave her hand a pat. 

“You can’t be held responsible for what someone else does, Magnus, he was an adult with a mind of his own. I don’t blame you but I really want to know how I could lose three days of my life and not remember a thing.” She said looking back and forth between the two of them. 

Magnus looked at Alec and he knew that Magnus was going to tell her the truth or a version of it anyway.

“Valentine was a very troubled man, Lydia. He was involved in things that were unnatural and bad. He wanted the book so he could learn to do more of them. He knew that the book had belonged to me a long time ago so I was the first person he came looking for. When I tracked it down to you, I’m afraid that’s how I led him to your door. I’m just glad I got to it first, although he’s caused us all enough trouble without it.”

“But that still doesn’t……”

“Yes, I know. I think Valentine slipped you something in a drink while you were out so he could get his hands on the book before you could let me know that he was after it.” 

Magnus’ eyes flickered up to Alec’s for a few seconds. He didn’t want to tell Lydia she had been turned into a crazy guard for Jace’s suspended state. The poor woman would probably need therapy as it was.

“I just want to let you know that Valentine Morgenstern won’t be bothering you again so you don’t have to worry about him popping up into your life again.” Magnus told her. 

To Lydia’s credit, she didn’t ask why. She was just glad that he wasn’t going to be any more of an issue.

“How about I get you a cup of tea?” Magnus said, patting her hand again and smiling.

“That sounds great, thanks.” He rose from the bed and went to the door. 

Alec could see Raphael waiting in the hall just outside. When the door had closed Lydia grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Thanks for being here for me, Alec. I have no idea why I’m at your place still but I’m glad I woke up to see a friendly face. Magnus seems like a good man, you’re very lucky to have him.” She said.

“Yeah, I know I am. Sometimes it feels like I don’t deserve him but I couldn’t let him out of my life now for any reason. I’m so sorry I led you along, Lydia. You didn’t deserve that.” He gave her a weak smile.

“Alec, it’s fine. I understand, well, kind of. But I get how you were in denial about yourself, it must have been really hard acting one way and wanting to be another. I’m glad you found someone that you can be your true self with. You deserve it. You were always such a gentleman with me.” She told him. 

He looked back at her and then took her into his arms for a hug.   
The door opened and Magnus came in with a cup of hot tea. Lydia pulled herself out of Alec’s arms and sat back, looking sheepish.

“Sorry. It was… I was just…..” She tried to explain but Magnus put the cup on the bedside table and smiled before going to Alec and sliding a hand around his waist and kissing his undamaged cheek.

“It’s fine my dear, don’t worry. I know how my handsome boy here feels about me and how I feel about him, for that matter. Unless you’ve somehow turned him straight in the past few minutes I have nothing to worry about.” Lydia gave a giggle and took the tea from the table.

“Believe me, I tried. But if I couldn’t turn him straight in the two months I had him and you could bust him out of that deep closest in such a short space of time, a few minutes wasn’t going to make any difference.” 

Magnus gave a very girly sounding giggle which had Alec gave his boyfriend a questioning look. Lydia was covering her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her own laugh. Magnus buried his face into the space between his arm and side of his chest. Alec had to smile then and lifted his arm, making him turn back around.

“Awww, babe, now it’s your turn to be embarrassed. Now you know what it feels like.” He said as he looked back at him, eyes lowered. 

Alec took him in his arms and put his mouth right next to his ear.

“Now I know what you mean when I blush cause you are fucking hot when you do it.” He whispered. 

Magnus’ eyes went wide and he had to swallow hard and prey that the front of his shirt was long enough to hide the instant bulge that Alec had just caused in his pants. 

“I might check and see what we are doing for dinner. I hope you can stay, Lydia? You could probably do with more rest and we’d feel better knowing that you were here where we could keep an eye on you.” Magnus said.

“You’re very kind and thank you I’d love to stay. I feel like an idiot for saying this but I don’t think I want to go home on my own tonight. This has sort of frazzled me a little.”

“Perfectly understandable, my dear. If you want to freshen up I presume you already know where the bathroom is?” Magnus said as he headed out the door, hand in hand with Alec.

“Yes, thanks guys, you’ve been so great.” Lydia said, smiling back at them.

Alec shut the door behind him and they headed for the living room. There had been no change in Jace’s situation, of course and he was still hovering above the sofa.

“So what are we going to do about him? we can’t have Lydia staying here with Jace floating in the living room like that.” Alec asked Magnus as they stood beside him.

“We’ll put him in our room tonight and Raph can sleep on the sofa, if that’s okay with him?” 

Magnus looked up to see the vampire pacing the floor in front of the windows. He looked distinctly nervous for some reason. Magnus frowned.

“Is there something wrong, Raph?” 

He stopped his pacing and looked at him.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea to have the mundane girl here tonight? What if she sees him?” 

Raphael pointed over to Jace. It was very unusual to see the unflappable Raphael Santiago in such an obviously flustered state. Alec was trying hard not to be amused by it but Raph caught the look on his face and glared at him, fluster gone, replaced with undisclosed anger.

“Just what are you smirking at, angel boy?” He growled.

“Oh just the big scary vampire getting all shook up over a girl.” Alec replied.

Definitely the wrong answer. Before Magnus could open his mouth to say anything to either of them, Raphael had used his vampire speed to crash into Alec and before he could blink, Alec found himself on the floor on his back with Raphael snarling over the top of him.

“Say something like that again, and I’ll give you a couple of new ventilation holes in your precious hide.” 

Raphael was inches away from his face. Suddenly, the weight that had been pressing down on Alec was gone and the irate vampire was flying backwards. He hit the floor on his butt, hard enough to make the furniture rattle. Magnus was standing over him, his face dark as a thunder cloud.

“You ever threaten Alexander like that again over something so trivial as an off handed remark and I’ll forget that we are friends.” Magnus said through gritted teeth. 

Raphael looked up at him and his face looked whiter than normal. He had taken things a step too far and he knew it.   
Alec looked down at the floor. Oh shit, he hadn’t meant to get him that riled up. Usually they shot barbs at each other and it went no further but for some reason Raphael’s tolerance levels were running low today.   
Magnus went over to where Jace lay and used his magic to shift him into the bedroom, as if he were remotely operating a wheeled hospital gurney. He pulled the door shut behind him and went over to Alec.

“Are you alright?” He asked him, taking his hand.

“”I’m fine. Don’t get too angry with Raph, it was partly my fault as well.” Alec said. 

He had a very edgy relationship with the vampire and he was far from being called a friend but he didn’t want to put a wedge in-between him and Magnus.

“I understand, my angel, but there was no cause for him threatening you like that. Now, what are we doing about dinner? Something delivered might be best, I think.” Magnus perused Alec’s collection of take out menus and chose a Thai restaurant. 

By the time the food had arrived, Lydia had come out to the living room, via the bathroom. She had washed her face and brushed her hair, making her look like a somewhat pale version of her usual self. 

“Just in time, my dear, dinner is served. Alexander said you liked Thai.” Magnus said, rising from the small table and pulling out a chair for her.

She gave him a smile and sat down.

“Yes, love it. I hope it’s as good as that restaurant we went to…. Oh.” Lydia’s face pinked as she realised what she had said and who she had said it to.

“It’s okay, Lydia. We’re all grownups here. I know that Alexander was with you when I met him. I’m sorry about the circumstances, as well. I know he felt bad about it all.” 

Magnus gave his boyfriend’s arm a rub and a sympathetic smile. Alec had been looking down at his plate but he lifted his head and his lips had the smallest of curves on them.

“It’s okay, Alec, I really do understand about everything. No hard feelings?” 

Lydia held out a hand across the table. Alec visibly brightened and took it, giving it a small shake.

“There now. How many people can say that they they’ve had dinner with their ex-boyfriend and his current boyfriend and get on so well together?” Magnus smiled. 

“Could you make this any weirder than it is, babe?” Alec asked him, helping himself to the take out boxes. 

Magnus just gave his arm a thump and then kissed his cheek.

“I could think of lots of ways I could make things weirder. Maybe Lydia and I could swap Alexander stories.” Magnus said with a mischievous grin. 

Lydia’s eyebrows rose and she gave a chuckle.

“I don’t know how entertaining that would be, Magnus, we only went out for a couple of months. But, does he still turn his plate around before he eats? I always found that amusing.” She said, spearing a piece of meat. 

Alec gave her a surprised look. Was she serious? Surely she wasn’t going to play this game? He shook his head. Magnus pretended not to notice.

“Yes he does and I must confess I think it’s cute too. He still over thinks things, as well.” Magnus said, swirling noodles around his fork. 

Alec couldn’t believe this. Did these two realize he was still sitting here?

“Yeah, he’s good at that and at blushing too. I’ve never known a guy to get so easily embarrassed.” 

Lydia was shaking her head and looking down at her plate. Alec almost choked on the mouthful of food. Oh shit, did she really have to mention that? And right on que, he could feel his face heating and it wasn’t from the spicy food. He dropped his fork with a clatter and reached for the glass of water he had in front of him. Magnus still had that cheeky grin plastered to his face and he reached over and rubbed Alec’s back, trying not to laugh. Alec downed the water, which only amplified the heat of the food but he had managed to stop coughing.

“Don’t you say another word, Magnus. I know what you’re thinking.” He croaked, giving his boyfriend a warning look. 

Lydia was sitting on the other side of the table, watching them. Her hand covered her mouth but her eyes were crinkled with laughter and her shoulders shook. Magnus was rubbing his face against Alec’s shoulder and doing his puppy dog eyes thing at him in the hopes that he would forgive him for making him blush. Alec was pretending not to notice what he was up to by looking off in the other direction but Magnus was determined to get him to look at him.

He leaned up and nuzzled into his neck while sliding a hand into his lap under the table, slowly moving it up his thigh till he got to his crotch where he gave him a firm squeeze. Alec jumped, hitting the edge of the table and turned to glare at Magnus, his face going bright pink once again. He went to open his mouth to say something but Magnus silenced him with a kiss. Alec felt his frustration seeping out of him. It was impossible to stay angry with this man. He broke the kiss and then remembered that Lydia was still in front of them which had him colouring all over again. He felt Magnus squeeze him again but this time, he managed to keep his cool about it.  
Lydia looked like she had just watched some romantic comedy TV show.

“You two are hilariously cute. If I didn’t know better I’d say you had been together for years not weeks. I hope one day that someone can look at me the way you two look at each other. It must have been love at first sight for both of you.” She said, a dreamy expression all over her face. 

There was that damn word again, Alec thought and rolled his eyes. Magnus chuckled.

“Near enough, I think. What can I say, when it’s right, it’s right. Seems he had a piece of my heart and I had a piece of his.” Magnus looked at Alec with a smile so wide his face was hurting. 

Alec kissed him and mouthed the words, “I love you” before getting up to collect the dishes. 

Lydia looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“Awww! So………” She started but Alec cut her off.

“You say the word cute once more and I’ll make you walk back home.” He said around the kitchen door way. She gave a quiet snort of laughter.

“He’s got a bit of a thing about that word but you can say it to me any time you like, I love it.” Magnus told her under his breath, as he started packing up the empty containers.

“I heard that Magnus! Stop encouraging her.” Alec called from the kitchen. He winked at Lydia and she couldn’t help the chuckles that bubbled from her.


	49. Chapter 49

After he had helped Alec wash the dishes and tidy the kitchen, she decided to head to the spare room for an early night. She still felt quite weary, even after her long nap. She thanked them both again and said good night and started down the hall.   
Raphael had just emerged from Alec’s bedroom where he had been watching over Jace and having his own liquid dinner. They both froze when they saw each other, stopping only inches apart.

“Oh, sorry, I had no idea anyone else was hear. I’m Lydia, Alec’s ex.” She said, shyly. 

Raphael felt his throat go dry, something that usual only happened when he hadn’t fed in a while. He was sure that if he’d had a heart beat that it would be racing right now. Being this close to Lydia while she was conscious was knocking him for a loop. And he had no idea why. Damn, what was he supposed to say to her?  
“Oh Raphael, I see you finally get to meet Lydia.” Magnus said, emerging from the living room.

“Raph was there today to help rescue you.” Lydia gave him a puzzled look.

“Rescue me? Rescue me from what?” 

Raphael looked back at Magnus with surprise. She really didn’t remember anything that had happened to her? He took that as both a good thing and a bad thing. Magnus’ answer was to play dumb.

“When I say rescue, I mean save. You know, from you waking up in your house alone and scared.” He clarified. 

“Yeah, cause waking up in an unfamiliar bedroom scared is a whole lot better.” Lydia said. “Not that I’m not grateful for you guys bringing me here and looking after me. You’re right, if I had of woken up at home alone I would probably be running around the place flipping out by now.”

She turned her eyes from Magnus back to Raphael, who was still standing dumb struck in front of her. She gave him a quick smile and it was like she had lit a tiny spark in him, very deep down, in a place that had never seen light before. The feeling both terrified and exhilarated him at the same time and was way more than he could handle just then. Lydia gave him a funny look.

“Are you okay, Raphael? You look a little pale.” She asked him. He almost burst out laughing. 

Oh dear God, if she only knew.

“No, I’m, I’m fine thank you.” 

There was his voice. He had begun to think he had lost it someplace. He noticed out of the corner of his eye Magnus leaning against the corner of the hall way, arms crossed over his chest, with a “what’s going on here?” look on his face. He pretended he hadn’t noticed.

“Just some indigestion, I think.” He told her. He wished that’s really what it was.

“Something you ate earlier? You weren’t at the table with us.” She asked. The woman was too quick, not your usual easy to bluff mundane.

“Ah, yeah, I sort of have an allergy to food so I have to be careful what I eat.” He explained. 

Shit, he was digging a hole for himself now.

“You have an allergy to food? Like all food?” 

Shit, shit, shit, forget a shovel, apparently, he was using a back hoe on that hole. Think quick genius.

“Well, not food in general, I mean certain types of food. You must be tired after today, I should let you go to bed.” 

Please lord, let her go to bed so he could stop with the digging before he made it to the opposite side of the world.  
Lydia was looking at him skeptically. Did she not believe him for some reason? The moment was fleeting, however and was soon replaced with a smile. That spark flared once more like a match being struck in a deep dark cave. She stuck out a hand towards him and he took it before he was thinking clearly. He felt her react to his cold touch.

“Sorry….” What, now he was apologizing for being a vampire? What the hell was wrong with him?

“That’s fine. You know what they say, cold hands, warm heart. Thank you for helping me today, Raphael, even if I don’t remember it.” 

She let go of his hand and with the smile still curving her lips, he headed for the spare room. He found himself smiling back and he was still standing there when she closed the door behind her.

Alec found it rather disconcerting sleeping in the same room with both his boyfriend and his best friend. Even if the best friend was in a type of magical coma right now. Magnus had been all over him as soon as he got under the covers but he had resisted him.

“What’s the matter, my angel, don’t you want me?” Magnus said, rolling on top of him, his chin resting in the soft cloud of hair on his chest.   
Alec rolled his eyes and smiled.

“You know I do, babe, it just feels really weird having Jace in here with us.”

“Just think of it as a sleep over and Jace has passed out already. Now you get to explore your dark side with the sexy gay friend.” 

Magnus wiggled his eyebrows at him suggestively. Alec shook his head. Where did he come up with this stuff?

“I have no idea what kind of childhood you had and frankly, I don’t really want to know, but that never happened to me. Well, there was this one time when I was about thirteen and I was… you know what? No, never mind. The point is I just don’t think I can fool around with my boyfriend with my friend just a few feet from the bed. Even if he is unconscious. I’m sorry, babe.” 

He gave a sigh and leaned up to kiss him.  
Magnus rolled off him and snuggled into his side instead, his head laying on his shoulder.

“That’s okay, honey pie, we can just do this instead. I’ll get you any way I can.” He kissed the side of his chest.

“Not that one either, Babe, sorry.” Magnus feigned innocence but Alec gave him a poke in the ribs making him giggle.

“Don’t play dumb you know what I mean.” Magnus laughed and cuddled in closer, one leg going across Alec’s.

“Let’s just talk about something then. It seems like forever that we’ve been able to do that.” Magnus suggested.

“You’re right, it has been, so what do you want to talk about?”

“What about the little exchange between Raph and Lydia I witnessed earlier, to start with.” Alec turned his head towards him and frowned.

“What exchange was that and how did I miss it?”

“Lydia was heading for bed and you were in the living room and I went to get a glass of water when I heard them talking. Well, mostly Lydia talking, to start with.” 

“So, what was it all about?” Magnus raised his eyebrows at him, a sly looking grin on his lips.

Alec pulled himself up further into a sitting position in the bed which wasn’t easy when your boyfriend refused to let you go. He frowned back.  
“I think our little child of the night may have a bit of a thing for your ex.” 

Magnus told him, laying his head in his lap and putting a soft kiss on his abs. Alec’s brow knitted and he shook his head.

“Nah, that can’t be right, he’s gay, isn’t he?”

“My angel, when you’re immortal you tend to, how shall I put it, not put all your eggs in one basket. I mean, why eat steak every day when you can have chicken or fish, anything you want, really.” He said, matter of factly. He gave Magnus an incredulous look. 

Hang on a minute, what did he just say?

“So are you telling me, you’ve had relationships with women?” 

Magnus sat up beside him. Oh damn, this was going to get awkward. This wasn’t really anything that they had discussed before now. Brilliant timing, Bane, he thought.

“Not women, one woman, many, many, many years ago. I went down the road less traveled and when I got there I took the first flight back to reality. I think it was more of a confirmation for me. Madam Bellecourt was one of those once met, never forgotten types, but lord knows I’ve tried. She was head of a vampire clan and the reason I met Raphael.” 

“Why am I only hearing about this now? I thought you were just into guys, I had no idea that……….” 

Magnus took his hand I his and squeezed it tightly, edging closer to him.

“Baby, I am, believe me, I am. After four hundred years, I know exactly who I am and what I want. Camille confirmed that for me, and that was all. You’re all I want, Alexander. I handed in my single card when I met you. Here or gone, you’re it for me, my love. Once you find your soul mate, that’s all you need.” 

He straddled his lap and took his face in his hands, searching his big hazel eyes.

“I love you, Alexander Lightwood, only you, forever.” 

He kissed him with so much feeling, it had tears welling up in Alec’s eyes. His arms encircled him and pulled him closer. How could he ever doubt this wonderful man? The love that they felt for each other was almost visible surrounding them, like a mist. Magnus pulled back from him and Alec had to smile when he saw that his eyes were shiny as well. Magnus leaned back in, brushing his lips to his once more.

“Are you all good now? No more doubts, ever?” He asked, peering at him. Alec shook his head.

No more doubts, ever.” He repeated. 

He took in a deep breath. “Now, can we go back to Raphael and Lydia, please?” 

Magnus gave a laugh. He wriggled a little on his lap and saw flames start to ignite in Alec’s eyes. Alec’s hands shot out and held his hips still.

“No, babe. Nice try but just keep still, I haven’t changed my mind, you know.” Magnus stuck out his bottom lip. 

“I have no idea why you would want to discuss some else’s love life when we could practise ours but anyway. I had just ended things with Camille and needless to say, the woman wasn’t used to hearing the word no. I think she probably did it just to piss me off or just to show me she could still control things, but either way, Raphael had just stepped out from the back of a restaurant he had been working in and was attempting to walk home when she grabbed him. 

It was terrible, I’ll never forget it. I had just walked off, thinking that it was over when I heard a cry from behind me. I spun around, thinking it was Camille that had made the noise. I went running back and saw her, fangs buried deep into Raphael’s neck. I managed to rip her off him, hoping she hadn’t killed the poor boy. She just dropped him like a piece of garbage in that back-alley way and walked off. I managed to get him back to my house and get a hold of another vampire to help care for him. He took Raph and promised he would look after him.” Magnus gave a sigh and shook his head. 

Alec was astounded by what Magnus was telling him. He’d had no idea Raphael had had such a rough start in his vampire life. It made him want to take back all the snide remarks and name calling.

“I thought you said that you met Raph when he tried to attack you.” Alec asked him.

“Yeah, it was more of a reunion of sorts. After I handed him off to the other vamp, I lost track of him. Night children tend to be a little on the secretive side. Any way, it was a few weeks later and I was walking home from somewhere and next minute I was being dragged down an alley, the same one, mind you, that Camille had bitten him in. Of course, I hit him with an energy ball and knocked him flat on his butt, for all of about three seconds, and he came at me again but he stopped when he remembered me. It seems that the vampire I had entrusted to do the right thing by him, had turned him completely and then set him loose to fend for himself. To cut a long story short, he was less than pleased with me for doing that to him and I had a massive attack of the guilts so I took him in and got him straightened out.” 

Alec was still in shock by all of this. Poor Raph, it must have been horrible for him before he had met Magnus again. He gave a snort of laughter. Magnus looked up at him, frowning.

“What in the name of everything unholy, did you find amusing in that tragic tale?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, it’s just you call me your guardian angel yet you were Raph’s.” Magnus grinned at him but shook his head.

“I don’t really think it is the same thing, baby. You are part angel where I am, well, you know what I am.” 

He looked down. Alec tilted his chin up with a finger so he was looking back at him.

“If nothing else, your helping Raph goes to prove that the demon side of you doesn’t matter. Something that both Raphael and I can attest to.” 

Magnus sat up and took his mouth with his. The longer he kissed him the less he remembered about what bothered him about Jace being in the room with them.  
It wasn’t long before they were both panting and desperate for each other.

“Hey, I have a way you can have some angel in you.” Alec, breathed into Magnus’ ear. 

Magnus groaned loudly and flipped them so that he was on his back with Alec plastered to him. 

“As long as you are prepared to experience my demon side.” He panted between frantic kisses and he blinked slowly, revealing those two amber orbs with their slit like pupils. Alec renewed his attack on his mouth, sucking in his bottom lip with a growl.

“Yes, please.” His voice was deep and raspy from need.


	50. Chapter 50

The next morning, Lydia had gotten up before the boys so she could cook breakfast. She was moving around the kitchen, frying bacon, scrambling eggs and making coffee when she turned and almost dropped the plate she had in her hand when she saw Raphael standing in the door way. 

“Shit, sorry! I didn’t know you were still here. Did you stay last night? Where did you sleep?” She asked him, putting the plate on the counter top.

“On the sofa. Sorry for frightening you. It wasn’t my intention.” 

Raphael looked like he was trying very hard not to make eye contact with her, something she hadn’t quite figured out yet. He’d acted in a similar way last night as well. Almost as if he were afraid of her for some reason. Not to mention how nervous he seemed to be.

“Oh no, did I take your bed? I’m sorry, I could have slept on the sofa, you should of said.” Now she felt bad. 

The poor guy wasn’t nervous he was probably stiff as a board.

“No, it was no problem, really. I didn’t mind. I could sleep hanging upside down in a corner if I had to.” Raphael inwardly groaned to himself.

Dear God, had he actually said that? What was wrong with him?

“So, did you want some breakfast? I made heaps, I’m afraid. Oh, damn, I’m sorry I forgot you’ve got allergies, haven’t you? Is there something I can get you instead?” She asked him, eyebrows raised in question. 

A stupid remark about opening a vein ran through his head and he felt his fangs coming down, their sharp tips digging into the surface of his tongue. This was getting ridiculous, not to mention dangerous. It had been decades since he’d had to watch himself around mundanes. A hand went to his mouth. Lydia looked concerned and took it the wrong way.

“Oh no, are you okay? Do you feel sick or something? God, I should have realized before I started cooking but I didn’t know you were still here.” 

She went to put a hand on his shoulder but he pulled back sharply, leaving her standing before him, one hand paused in mid-air and a confused look on her face. He needed to make an excuse and get away, now.

“It’s fine, really I just need a minute.” He said, behind his hand and he turned and as normally as he possibly could, went to the bathroom.

Lydia looked down the hallway and watched him as he disappeared and shut the door. Magnus emerged from Alec’s room and gave her a smile but it died on his lips when he saw her worried expression. He frowned and looked back in the direction her eyes were trained.

“Something wrong, Lydia?” He asked, coming up to her.

“I think I made your friend sick and I feel really bad about it.” She confessed, grimacing. 

Magnus frowned and then realised that she was talking about Raph. Oh God, what had happened? He knew that he was having issues with her for some reason but he hoped he hadn’t done anything stupid.

“You’ll have to forgive Raphael, he has a very touchy stomach. I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’ll just check on him.” 

Magnus assured her and he went down to the bathroom door and knocked softly.

“Are you alright Raphael? Do you need your, ah, medication?” Magnus asked through the door. He hoped that he knew what he meant by ‘medication’. 

The door cracked opened and Magnus went in, closing the door behind him. He wedged himself up against the small sink, looking at the forlorn figure sitting on the closed lid of the toilet.

“So, do you want to tell me what just happened?” He asked him. He hadn’t seen his friend so unsettled in a very long time.

The vampire shrugged his broad shoulders and looked very bewildered. His beetle black eyes darted back and forth like they were searching for an answer hidden on the white tiles on the floor.

“I have no idea what’s happening, Magnus. It’s Lydia, she’s affected me in a way I’ve never experienced before. I feel an attraction to her and I would say it’s scaring me to death except I’m already dead, anyway. I’m so confused right now it isn’t funny. I can’t even speak to her without making an idiot of myself.” 

Raph looked helplessly up at his friend.   
Magnus hid his smile behind his hand. Well, well, well, the vampire did have a heart after all and it seemed to be beating for Lydia Branwell, if only in the figurative sense. 

“So, what are you more confused about? The fact that you feel a strong attraction to a woman or that you thought you were gay.” 

Raph stood up and threw his hands in the air.

“Both, I guess. In my entire two hundred years, I’ve never felt anything for a woman before. Then when Alec turned up and I thought I had an attraction to him, I just presumed I was gay, like you. But this, this is something else.” Raph nodded worriedly towards the direction of the kitchen. 

He wished the tiny space had been bigger so he could pace but all he could manage was a kind of shuffle from one foot to the other. Magnus stopped leaning on the sink ad came up to him. He put a hand on his arm and smiled.

“Raph, it’s not unusual for people like us to have varied tastes when it comes to other people. It’s like in the mundane world where some don’t limit themselves one way or the other. I don’t see why it can’t be the same for immortals. I’ve been blessed to of found the person I want to share my life with and it happens to be another man. That’s just the way I am but there’s nothing to say that you are the same. If you’re attracted to Lydia, then go with it but just know it won’t be an easy road. Not every mundane is as accepting as Alexander, not that he’s really a mundane, anyway.

The best part of being immortal is that you have all the time in the world, so use it to ease into things. Get comfortable with yourself first before going any further, find out if the feeling’s mutual would be a good start.” 

Magnus patted his arm, feeling the solid cold muscle under the sleeve of his shirt.

“There is just so much that has to be considered about this, Magnus, it’s overwhelming. If I was smart I would just stop right now and try to forget about it. About her.” He sat back down again, head down his fingers laced together hard.

“I think you’re not giving yourself a chance at happiness even before you try, my friend. All relationships have issues.” 

Raphael’s head flew up to look at him incredulously. He was kidding, right?

“Magnus we’re not talking about whether or not we both like the same kind of music or things like that here. There’s the small matter of the fact that I’m technically dead and have been for over two hundred years or the matter of me only being able to live on blood. I hardly think those kinds of things come up in a normal relationship.” 

Magnus gave a nod, he had a point there.

“Well, no, you’re right about that but look at Alexander and I. There have been so many time when I expected him to run screaming in the opposite direction but he didn’t. I think our bond and our mutual attraction to each other helped with that. But who knows? It could have just as easily gone the other way as well and you would be hiding the bottles of wine from me again. 

There are no guarantees with anything like this you just have to take the leap and hope that you can find solid ground. Either way, I want you to know I’ll be here for you, no matter what you decide to do. Just take your time.” 

Magnus smiled down at his friend and Raphael stood and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Not something that he usually did.

Right at that moment the door flew open and Alec started to enter the room but stopped when he saw the two of them. He frowned and crossed his arms.

“Okay, so what did I miss?” He asked, as he cocked a hip and looked enquiringly at his boyfriend and the vampire hastily pulling away from him. 

Magnus took the one step over to him and put his hands on his chest.

“Raphael and I were just having a little heart to heart, that’s all, my angel. It’s all good.” 

Alec put his hands around Magnus protectively looking back at the vampire. Raphael gave him a sour look.

“You don’t have to worry, angel boy, he’s all yours still.” 

“Oh, I wasn’t worried. It helps to have a boyfriend with a pulse.” Alec shot back.

“I can fix that little flaw if you like?” Raphael said, smiling back. Magnus let go of Alec and gave a sigh.

“Will you two please behave, we have a guest at the moment who is probably at this minute in the kitchen wondering why there are three grown men in one tiny bathroom. I think we should go out for breakfast, don’t you?” Magnus asked, looking back at Alec. 

He leaned in and gave Magnus a kiss that was really way too hot to be done in front of anyone. Magnus managed to collect himself before pushing his boyfriend back out the door.


	51. Chapter 51

After enjoying the fruits of all Lydia’s hard labours, she told them that she was ready to go back home.

“I’m sure Alec wouldn’t mind driving you, my dear. Thank you for breakfast this morning. It beats a half cold cup of coffee and a piece of toast any day.” Magnus told her as she stood near the door, after they had cleared the table and the kitchen.

“Thank you for being my knight’s in shining Armour. I appreciate it very much.” She said, her eyes moving from Alec and Magnus to Raphael, who was standing back behind them near the kitchen.

She seemed to hold his gaze a lot longer than the other two and he felt something spark within him once more. He felt his quiet insides jolt and hoped that it hadn’t shown on the outside. 

“It was nice to meet you, Raphael. I’m sorry about this morning. Maybe next time we meet you can tell me exactly what you can eat so I don’t make you sick again.” She gave a small nervous chuckle. 

Small steps, isn’t that what Magnus had said?

“I’m fine, Lydia. You have nothing to apologise for, believe me. Next time maybe we could cook together.” He felt his mouth curve but inside he was a jangle of nerves.

“That sounds like fun. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon. I hope so, anyway.” 

She lowered her eyes shyly before following Alec out the door. Just as she disappeared from sight, Raphael saw her turn her head back and give him a smile that had him wanting to grin back like an idiot but he managed to keep it together till Magnus closed the door behind them.  
He turned sharply and covered his mouth with his hand. The other hand went to his chest, even though there was silence from within, he could have sworn he felt his still heart galloping against his ribs. If he had reason to breath, the air in his lungs would have been rushing out in nervous gusts.  
Magus came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s a strange feeling when it hits you, isn’t it?” He said quietly to his old friend’s back. 

Raphael spun around, working hard to keep himself together.

“It can’t happen, Magnus. I can’t let it.” He said, his baritone voice wavering.

“Sometimes we don’t get a say in it, my friend. We just have to go a long for the ride, whether its bumpy or smooth, clear or blocked or straight or full of unexpected turns. But you know what? It’s always worth it. Once you reach that destination, you’ll realise that the journey was half the fun of getting there.” Magnus told him. 

Raphael just put his hands on his hips and closed his eyes, putting his head back.   
It was alright for Magnus to say things like that, he’d been lucky enough to meet someone who turned out to be half angel and extremely accepting. Being a warlock didn’t have the stigma attached to it that being a vampire did. The chances of finding someone who was willing to accept everything that went with being one, was about as great a chance of him learning how to fly. Why did this have to happen to him? How the hell could the universe be so cruel as to dangle such a carrot in his face? He just needed to focus on helping Magnus to find that adamis so things could get back to normal for them. Well, as normal as things could be now Alec was in his life.

The rest of the day was spent by combing every possible lead to finding the elusive Adamis stone. Magnus contacted just about everyone he had known for the past four hundred years in search for it but all to no avail. Alec even tried the internet but of course as far as that was concerned, it didn’t exist.   
By mid-afternoon they were all very frustrated and angry. Magnus sat on the sofa, head in his heads rubbing his temples. Alec sat beside him, his head leaning on his shoulder, feeling both defeated and disappointed for his boyfriend. Magnus was taking this very hard. He wasn’t used to failing at something and it was worse knowing that a life was hanging in the balance because of it. Every hour that passed didn’t bode well for Jace who continued to float in the magical bubble.   
Raphael was hovering around them, feeling equally as useless. Because of his long estrangement with the vampire world, he had no one that he could ask for help in locating what they needed. 

They were just about to have what felt like, their tenth cup of coffee when Alec got a text from Izzy.  
He read the screen and then turned to Magnus.

“Babe, Izzy wants to know if we want go to their place for pizza night. Apparently, you made quite an impression on Max and Jem and they’ve been driving her crazy since then. I’ll just tell her we have something else on, if you want, we don’t have to go.”

Magnus looked back at him and kissed his cheek.

“No that’s fine. If you want to go then it’s fine with me. Maybe a break from all this would be a good idea. Tell her we’ll come.” 

Alec relayed the message and Izzy sent a recording back of her telling the boys that they were coming. Enthusiastic high-pitched cries of delight vibrated through the speaker of the phone, making both of them laugh.

“If nothing else, I’m sure those two will keep us entertained. Who could disappoint that?” Magnus said, leaning up against Alec.

Raphael was happy to stay and keep an eye on Jace, promising to let them know if anything changed or if anyone got back to them about the adamis.  
Alec drove Magnus’ car to Izzy and Simon’s and they arrived just before it got dark. They stood at the door, holding hands, and Alec was about to ring the bell when they heard two sets of little feet running towards them on the other side of the door. After listening to a short squabble about who was going to actually open the door, it finally flung open and Max and Jem, both clad in pajamas, threw themselves at Magnus and Alec. 

“Uncle Allie! You came! We’ve gonna have pizza! With lots of cheese and pineapple, do you like cheese and pineapple too? It’s okay if you don’t Mummy is getting other ones as well.” Max spoke at a mile a minute, not pausing for breath once. He looked up at Magnus.

“Magnus! You still love my uncle, that’s good cause we really liked you.” Max told him, before wrapping his little arms around his waist. 

Magnus really wanted to laugh but he held it in so he didn’t hurt Max’s feelings. He gave to small boy a pat on the back before Izzy appeared at the door and attempted to pull her eldest son off her brother’s boyfriend.

“Sorry, Magnus, Max tends to throw himself at his favourite people.” She said, ushering the boys inside.

“That’s fine Isabelle, I think your boys are terrific.” He said as he took Alec’s hand once more and they followed her down to the living room. 

Simon was getting plates and napkins organised for the pizza.

“Hey guys, do you want a drink while we wait for the delivery?” He asked them.

They both gave their consent to a glass of wine and Simon poured them one each and they took them into the living room and sat together on the sofa. Alec put a protective hand on Magnus’ leg, his fingers gently moving on the smooth material. Magnus gave him a soft smile and leaned in to land a quick kiss on his lips. It was good to see him relaxed and happy to show his affection in front of his family. It was a big step.

“Aww, you two are so sweet. You look really happy.” Izzy crooned, beaming back at them.

“Thanks, Iz. Yeah, he does make me happy. Very much.” He gave Magnus’ leg a squeeze and Magnus leaned over to lay his head on his shoulder. 

“Mum, why does Uncle Allie get to do mushy love stuff and you won’t let me watch it on TV?” Max said, hands on hips. 

Alec went bright pink but tried not to laugh at the same time. Magnus had taken his head off his shoulder and was sitting up straighter, trying, but not succeeding very well, not to smirk. He didn’t dare look at Alec or that would be a whole other conversation that wasn’t G rated.

“Uncle Alec is perfectly fine to kiss his boyfriend if he likes, Max. Like I kiss Daddy sometimes.” Izzy tried to explain.

Max seemed to take accept his mother’s explanation and he just gave an “Okay” and went back to playing with his brother on the floor.

“Sorry, we’ll behave ourselves from now on.” Alec said. Not something he had ever expected to say to his sister about his boyfriend.

“It’s fine guys. I think its good for the boys to see you together like that. Who knows, they might turn out to have similar feelings one day. It would be good to think that they had a pair of roll models to look up to and to turn to if they did.” Izzy said.

Magnus put his hand on his chest and looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“Isabelle, that was such a nice thing to say. Thank you so much. Do you hear that, my angel, we’re role models.” Magnus beamed back at Alec. 

Alec couldn’t help smiling back, Magnus’ happiness filled him with a warm glow. He bent his head and kissed him again.

“Mum, he’s doing it again” Jem said from the floor.

“He’s allowed to, silly cause he loves Magnus.” Max told his brother very matter of factly. 

“Oh, okay.” Jem went back to what he was doing.

It had all of them covering their mouths and trying not to laugh. Kids. Alec loved that his nephew’s her so accepting of them.  
The doorbell rang and Izzy got up to take delivery of the pizza. Max and Jem ran after her and came back a minute later, carrying a box each as carefully as someone carrying dynamite might walk.  
Simon helped the boys put the boxes on the table and Izzy put the other once down beside them. They all got a plate and helped themselves to the pizza before e settling back down again in the living room.

“So, what have you two been up to lately?” Simon asked, biting into a slice.

Alec looked at Magnus and raised his eye brows. Ha, if they knew the real answer to that, it would make for a very interesting conversation. Luckily, Magnus came to the rescue.

“We actually have some news about that. Alexander and I have decided to get a place together. I’m relocating into the city so we can be together.” He gave Alec’s knee a pat. 

Izzy’s eyes went wide.

“Really? Wow, that’s really something. Do you think you’re up for that yet? I mean, it’s a big step when you haven’t been together that long.” 

“I have no doubts what so ever, Isabelle. I’ve been around long enough to know that I have someone very special when it comes to your brother. I’m sure we will have our differences. Alexander can be such an angel and I can be a bit of a demon when I want to be.” Magnus replied. 

Alec shot him an incredulous look and tried not to chock on the mouthful of pizza. Had he really just said that? He couldn’t believe he was being that cheeky tonight.  
Izzy gave a laugh.

“I’m sure my brother could say that at times he has just as much demon in him too, Magnus.” Magnus could help the chuckles from escaping him. Alec looked like he was about to explode.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re right, my dear, in fact I could guarantee it.” Magnus said, giving Alec’s heated cheek a quick peck.


	52. Chapter 52

They laughed and chatted while the slices of pizza disappeared. Magnus was surprised at the amount of it that the boys had eaten. Where they put it all was a wonder to him. He noticed that Jem had been giving him strange looks while they ate but he didn’t want to say anything in case he got the boy into trouble.

Finally, while Alec gave Simon a hand to collect plates, napkins and the empty boxes, whatever Jem had been curious about must of gotten the better of him. He came up to Magnus quietly, while he was talking to his mother and stood beside the sofa, regarding him seriously. Magnus turned his head and smiled at him, putting a hand around the little boy’s small back.

“Mr Jeremiah, did you want to ask me something?” Magnus asked him. The child’s eyes flew wide and he gasped in a breath of surprise.

“How did you know that? Are you magic?” Magnus wanted to burst out laughing but managed to contain himself and reduce his reaction to a chuckle. 

His eyes flew up to where Alec was in the kitchen. He had felt through their bond that he had heard what his nephew had said. Alec was standing behind the large counter, giving a barely perceptible shake of his head.

“What makes you say that?” Magnus asked.

Cause you knew what I was thinking. Only magic people know that.” Jem said very matter of factly.

Magnus gave another chuckle.

“So, before I answer you, how about you ask me what you wanted to know.” 

Jem gave his mother a sideways look, waiting for her approval. Magnus gave her a small nod, letting her know that it was fine by him. When he didn’t see anything, Jem turned back to face Magnus.

“You have really pretty eyes, Maggus, how come your eyes look like that?” 

Magnus gave him a smile and he encouraged him to come around to stand in front of him. He took the boy’s small hands in his before answering. Izzy had her face buried in her hands, shaking her head. Magnus noticed that the room had gotten very quiet somehow.

“Well, thank you for that, Jem, that was very nice of you to say. I like your eyes too. Mine are like they are because I was born in another country.” Jem frowned.

“Where’s that?”

“Have you ever heard of Indonesia? It’s a very long way from here and is very hot and has lots of jungles.” Jem’s eyes went wide again.

“Are there lions and tigers in the jungle?” Magnus laughed.

“There aren’t any lions but there are tigers and big monkeys.” He told him. Jem was fascinated.

“Wow! Did you live in the jungle with them, like Mogoli?” Magnus smiled, this kid was priceless.

“We lived in a small village near the jungle but I was never allowed to go in there by myself because it was too dangerous. My mother would have been very angry if I had of disobeyed her.”

“Yeah, mums are like that.” Jem nodded sagely. 

“Jem, I think you’ve asked enough questions for tonight, Magnus will think you’re being a sticky beak.” Izzy said to her son. 

He looked down at the floor. Magnus gave her a reassuring look.

“It’s fine Isabelle. It’s nice to see such an enquiring little mind. So, did you still want to know if I’m really magic?’ 

Magnus leaned in closer to the little boy, as if it was a big secret. He felt Alec react but he flicked his eyes briefly to him, hoping that he got the message that everything was alright.  
Jem lifted his small face and gave a silent nod.

“How about I show you and Max a trick?” Magnus asked. 

Jem’s face brightened and he smiled broadly. Max came over to them and waited expectantly next to his brother.

“So, you are going to have to help me out here, alright. Do you know the magic words?” He asked the boys.

“Yes! It’s please and thank you!” Max told him brightly. 

Magnus gave a laugh as did Izzy. Alec and Simon were smiling back from the kitchen shaking their heads.

“I meant the other ones, abra cadabra, do you know those as well?”

“Yeah, ‘course we do, don’t we Max?’ Jem looked up to his brother and he nodded enthusiastically.

Magnus held out his hands, palm up in front of the two riveted children. He felt Alec tensing but ignored it for the time being. He set his face in mock concentration, flipping his hands over and making them into fists and waved them around with a flourish of movement. He suddenly shot them both in the air above his head and gave his fingers a click. He felt Alec startle. Hold on, angel, it’s all fine, he thought. He brought his closed hands back down to the boys, facing them down.

“So, do you remember those other magic words?” He asked them.

“Abra cadabra!” The kids shouted together. 

Magnus turned his hands back up and slowly opened his fingers to reveal two small toy cars, one in each palm. The boys gave a squeal of laughter and began jumping up and down in delight. Magnus gave them a nod and they took the cars from him, inspecting every detail of them.  
Izzy gave a laugh.

“I think you two need to use those other magic words now.” She told them.

 

They were so adorable. He felt so blessed to be able to share Alec’s family with him.  
The boys took the cars over to where they were sitting on the floor and started racing them along the tiled floor. Izzy stood and came over to him.

“That was so sweet of you, Magnus. Thank you. Boy, you really are a magician, that was a great party trick. Shame you couldn’t make a million dollars appear like that.” She joked. 

Magnus heard Alec clear his throat and he headed over to where they were in the living room. He slipped his arm around his man’s waist and kissed him soundly, right in front of his sister. He broke the kiss to lean his head against Magnus’, sharing a soft happy moment with him.

“Ewww. Mushy love stuff! Do you two need a moment alone or do I have to get a bucket of water and throw over you?” Izzy joked looking back at them.

“Ha ha, sorry, sis, this guy never ceases to amaze me, that’s all.” He said not taking his eyes off his boyfriend’s face to whole time. 

He mouthed the words ‘I love you’ before turning back to his sister. Magnus glowed, his eyes shining, perfect lips spread wide across his face.  
Izzy was doing the ‘aww, so cute’ face again and this time, Alec didn’t say anything.

“We had better get back. Thank you so much for dinner and the entertainment.” Magnus said, letting Alec go so he could hug Izzy to him. He felt a small hard bump against his chest.  
'sorry, that's my necklace. I keep it inside my clothes to protect it. It's been in the family for years." She explained.

She dragged out a shiny silver chain and eventually something slightly bulky in her hand. She smiled and open her fingers, revealing the pendant. 

Magnus stilled and Alec immediately looked at him, sensing his tension. Right before his eyes, Izzy was presenting an opaque looking white piece of stone. It was about two inches long and had been shaped into a faceted rectangle, a thin band of silver wrapped around the top of it, securing it to the chain. Magnus couldn’t take his eyes from it, and it was a few minutes before Alec realized why. 

His sister’s necklace was a shard of Adamis. Oh holy shit. Now what did they do?


	53. Chapter 53

Izzy frowned back at them both.

“You two look really weird at the moment is something wrong? Alec, you’ve seen this before, it was Great Grandmas. Been handed down through the family for ages.” Izzy said.

Magnus looked back at Alec. They had to get that stone but how the hell could they ask Izzy for it? Magnus grabbed Alec’s arm and pulled him away from a very weirded out Izy and curious Simon. He took Alec into the hall way.

“Alexander…….” He started to say, under his breath. But Alec stopped him.

“I know, Magnus. It’s a piece of fucking Adamis, isn’t it? This is too crazy, how the hell is this possible?” He asked his boyfriend, his eyes wide.

“Well, considering your blood line it’s not all that surprising, angel. Obviously, it’s been handed down for many generations. Somewhere in your line, Alexander, there was a working shadow hunter.” Magnus was keeping his voice low and talking fast, his nerves getting the best of him.

“We have to tell Izzy. It’s the only way We can’t just take it from her and any excuse I can think of is going to sound too fake. She’s tough, Magnus, she can take it. I’m sure.” Alec gripped his firm biceps through the soft feel of his shirt.

“I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to, babe. We’ll think of another way if you don’t want Izzy to know about everything.” He assured Magnus. 

Magnus looked back at him, his face conflicted. Could he do this? Could he trust Alec’s family to keep his long-held identity? Looking back at the man he loved with his heart, he read the answer in his eyes.

“Alexander, when we first met, I knew there was something special about you but I had no idea what it was at the time. I could never imagine how deeply and how quickly I could fall in love with someone I had really only just met but every second I spent in your company only drew me closer to you. You truly are an angel, my beautiful boy. To think you would be willing to sacrifice a chance at saving your best friend to keep my true self secret is truly amazing to me and I could never let you do that. I love your family, baby, they are truly wonderful and if you feel comfortable in doing this, then I am more than willing to go along with it. No matter what happens.” 

He slammed his lips to Alec’s, pouring his heart into the kiss and feeling Alec taking it into him. He held him tightly to his body and they only broke apart to take deep breaths. They stood in the hall way, hands on each other’s faces, gazing into each other’s eyes for a long few minutes. Alec felt like he had won the lottery ten times over with this man. He truly was blessed.

“Come on, let’s do this.” Magnus said softly to him, brushing his lips to his once again before taking his hand and leading him back to his sister.

“Well, finally! What’s going on guys? You’re sorta weirding us out here.” Izzy said, her hands on her slim hips. 

Alec looked at Magnus and he gave a short nod.

“Izzy, we need to talk about something. Do you think the boys could go to bed?” Alec asked her. 

He saw his sister still, knowing his words had her on edge. She looked to her husband and he rounded up the boys and after they had given Alec and Magnus good night hugs, he shepherded them off down the hall to their rooms. Alec and Magnus took a seat on the sofa and Izzy sat in one of the other chairs. She hadn’t taken her eyes of her brother and he could see the wariness in them. Simon came back and sat in the other single chair, leaning forward hands clasped together.

“Okay so what’s going on guys? It sounds serious, is everything alright?” Simon asked them.

Alec took in a shuddering breath and grabbed Magnus’ hand for support before he started.

“The first thing you need to know is that Magnus is very special. Uniquely, special.” Izzy’s eyes brightened.

“Don’t tell me, you two are getting married?” She beamed back at them. Ale gave a short laugh but there was no humour in it.

“I wish that’s what this was all about. No, we aren’t getting married. Magnus is unique because he’s actually a warlock. He’s only part human. He’s part of another world that the majority of this world knows nothing about.” Izzy gave them a disbelieving look.

“Yeah, right very funny, Alec. You two haven’t joined some weird religion or something, have you?” She said. “Cause I’m not beyond kicking both of your butts for doing something stupid, ya know?” She raised her dark eye brows at them.

“No Izzy. This isn’t some story, it’s true. Magnus, do you want to show them?” 

Magnus held out his hand, gave a sharp click of his fingers and produced the wavering blue flame in the palm of his hand.  
Izzy flung herself back in the chair and Simon joined her, both jumping out of their skins.

“whoa! Jesus! How the hell……” Izzy said, her hand fluttering to her chest. 

Simon looked at the dancing flame with horrified fascination.

Alec went on to try to explain the world that Magnus was part of. He knew this was all going to be too much for them both to handle, but he just hoped that enough sunk in so that he could break the news to his sister about their heritage.  
Magnus evaporated the flame and sat back next to Alec, taking his hand once again.  
He took over from him then, telling them about the battle with Valentine and the demons. Izzy and Simon sat dumb struck in their chairs, occasionally giving each other bewildered looks.

“That’s not the end of all this, I’m afraid. To try to get back at Magnus, Valentine grabbed Jace. We think he did it to try to lure me out to use me against him, as a bargaining chip for the book. We got him first but Jace was put under a spell and it’s like he’s in a coma. Lydia was dragged into it too, Valentine turned her into this psychopathic guard but Magnus was about to bring her out of it. She doesn’t remember a thing, thank God. She has no idea about any of this.“ Alec told them.

“I can break Jace free from the spell but I need certain elements for the spell to work. I had all of them except one, a precious stone from my world called Adamis. Extremely rare and hard to get hold of. I’ve tried everywhere I know to source it but until tonight, I thought I would never find any. Isabelle, your necklace is made from Adamis.” Magnus nodded his head at the pendant that was still lying against Izzy’s rapidly moving chest.

Magnus and Alec looked back at them, waiting for a reaction. At first, they just sat there, unmoving, eyes wide, mouths open in shock. Then Izzy blinked rapidly, like she had just been woken from a day dream.

“I need a drink.” She croaked and rose rapidly from her chair to go to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine and a glass. 

Simon stayed where he was, his eyes facing in front of him but not seeing anything. Alec watched them moving back and forth like he was reading something in front of him. At least they hadn’t freaked completely out. That had to be good, hadn’t it?  
Izzy brought the bottle and her glass back to the living room, falling into the chair, some of the wine sloshing over the edge of the glass and hitting the chair. She didn’t seem to care and just took another mouthful.

“There’s more, I’m afraid. Something that has to do with us, Iz. We are descended from an ancient race called shadowhunters. They are like guardians for warlocks. Magnus and I share a bond that allows us to know when one of us is in danger and feel each other’s emotions. I know when he’s happy, sad, angry, anything and it’s the same for him. Magnus can read my thoughts as well. 

Before the fight with Valentine, he gave me a special weapon, a seraph blade to use against the demons. The blade is made from the same stone as your necklace. We can make the stone glow Izzy, it holds a lot of power. Give me the necklace, I’ll show you.” 

He held his hand out for it. At first, he didn’t know whether she would relinquish it but a couple of seconds later, she took if from her neck and put it in his hand. Alec closed his eyes and centered himself, concentrating. He raised his eye lids slowly, and the small shard began to emit the white blue light from the palm of his hand. Izzy and Simon gasped once more, staring at the spectacle before them. Alec’s eyes went to his sisters.

“You can do this too Iz. We have angel blood. We are part angel, Izzy.” He told her, trying to keep his deep voice as steady as he could.

Izzy looked back at him. She had gone very white and Alec was glad she was sitting down at least. She looked like she was about to pass out. Simon took in a deep breath and reached over to grab his wife’s shaking hand.

“This is so….. I can’t get my head around…..” Simon was saying, shaking his head.

“Angel.” Izzy croaked. All eyes went to her. Simon gave her a worried frown.

“what was that, sweetie? Are you okay?” He asked giving her hand a squeeze.

“Angel. Mum told me that her grandmother always called her angel. Said it was a nick name passed down from one girl to the next.” 

She was staring into space, her eyes shiny. She gave a sharp laugh which had them all looking worriedly at her.

“Even our mother called me that, once or twice. Now I know why.” Magnus gripped Alec’s hand and he looked back at him, nodding his head, knowingly. 

If Alec hadn’t completely believed his heritage before, he did now. It had been slammed into him with all the force of a freight train. He sat back and rubbed his eyes with his hand, forgetting about the necklace. He laid it on the coffee table in front of them. Everyone looked back at it, as if it were the holy grail itself. The room was very silent for a long time and Alec worried that this had totally broken his sister and her husband’s mind. Magnus looked equally worried. Had they done the wrong thing? Would they accept him into their lives now they knew this about him? It was like going back to square one all over again but at least he knew that this time he had Alec beside him. he just hoped he could have his family as well.  
It was a long time before Izzy broke the silence.

“So, where’s Jace now then?” She asked. Her question had made them all jump. 

She sounded remarkably steady for someone who had just had their world turned upside down. Alec looked at Magnus and he gave him a look that told him he was just as shocked as he was.

“Ah, he’s back at my place.” Alec told her. Izzy rose to her feet, downed the last of the contents of her glass. 

“So, are we doing this or what?” She said, looking down at the astounded faces of her brother and his warlock boyfriend.


	54. Chapter 54

It was a very strange atmosphere in the car going to the apartment. Izzy asked them questions like she was prepping for some kind of test. Her voice had a very no nonsense tone to it so neither of them questioned her mood.  
The arrived back to be greeted by Raphael.

“There’s been no change since…….” He stopped as soon as he saw Izzy. 

His dark eyes flying to Magnus with a questioning raise of his eye brows.

“Raphael, this is Isabelle, Alexander’s sister. Raphael is my long-time friend.” Magnus explained as he introduced them. Izzy eyed him suspiciously.

“So, are you a warlock as well?” She asked, as if she was interrogating a client.

“Ah……” Raphael was completely surprised and had no idea what to say.

“No, he’s a vampire.” Alec said from behind them as he shut the door. 

Raphael looked back at him with a murderous expression. For a few horrible minutes, Alec thought he actually might go for his throat. Izzy gave a strangled sort of laugh.

“Of course he is, don’t have any werewolves hidden around anywhere do you? I’m allergic to dander.” 

She glanced around the room, the others looking at her speechless.

“Not at the moment, but I do know a few so please let me know when you’re coming over and I’ll make sure they aren’t invited.” Magnus said, a hint of amusement in his voice. Alec looked at his boyfriend like he was seeing him for the first time. Seriously? Now he knew real werewolves?

Magnus gave him an apologetic shrugged of his shoulders. They hadn’t had that talk yet. He better not mention the seelies, or fairies, then either.

“So, where’s Jace?” Izzy asked. Raph gave Magnus a questioning look as if to say, what the hell?

“It’s alright Raph Izzy has been brought up to speed on everything. She has an Adamis necklace. We can wake Jace now.” Magnus told him and he just gave him a nod of acknowledgment. 

He was still eyeing Izzy with a wary eye. They all headed for the bedroom. Alec laid a hand on his sister’s arm.

“This might be a bit of a shock for you Iz.” He cautioned her. Izzy just looked at him with a lop-sided grin.

“Brother, after what I have just been told, this will be a piece of cake. There’s nothing that could surprise me anymore, even if I wake up tomorrow with my head stapled to the ceiling.” She told him. 

Alec was starting to wonder about how unhinged she really was but now they were this close to waking Jace, he’d have to put it aside.  
Magnus opened the door and they filed in. The room was lit only with the bedside lamps, reminding Alec of the inside of a church or a chapel. Jace hovered near the foot of his bed, still encased in the magical cocoon. 

“Okay, I take it back, I’m shocked.” Izzy said, beside Alec as she saw her brother’s best friend levitated above the floor.

“Raph, can you get the things from my work room please?” Magnus said and Raphael went back out the door to grab the crate of glass jars. 

Magnus held out his hand and snapped his fingers, the grimoire appearing instantly. Izzy jumped beside her brother but other than that gave no other reaction. Magnus held his hand over the book once again, the musty pages riffled till they stopped at the required page.   
Raphael returned with the crate and Magnus sat it on the bed, gathering what he needed for the spell to work. As they watched, he got out the various plant like stems from the jars and stripped leaves off and sprinkled them over the surface of the bubble. When he had finished he asked Alec to hold out the necklace. He looked worriedly at Izzy.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this Isabelle, but I have to get that Adamis off the chain before we can use it. I will repair it afterwards but for now it needs to be separated from the other metal.” Magnus told her.

“Just do it, Magnus, I don’t care, if it saves Jace from that bubble then I don’t care what you do with it.” She told him, her eyes never leaving Jace’s body once.

Magnus gave a nod of thanks and with a click of his fingers, produced his blue flame and waved it over the pendant as Alec help it. In an instant, the small shard had dropped to the floor and Alec was left holding the chain and clasp. He bent down and picked it up and put the chain in his pocket.

“Are we all ready for this? Alexander, can you get ready to support your friend when I wake him, please? He’ll drop like a stone otherwise. Isabelle, Raph, can you stand either side of me? I may need your strengths for this. He’s been under the spell for a lot longer than he was meant to be.”

Alec handed Magnus the Adamis shard before going around to the other side of his friend. He widened his stance and set his shoulders, waiting.  
Magnus held the book in one hand and his misty glowing magic in the other. He started to recite the words from the book, while waving his other hand over the shimmering bubble. 

At first, Alec and the others saw no change but then they noticed a subtle rippling in the surface of the magical shroud around Jace. Magnus’ voice grew louder and stronger and the ripples got bigger. Just as the whole bubble began to waver like a wave captured in a bottle, Magnus took the Adamis shard and dropped it on the top. 

It seemed to float for a few seconds before in sank beneath the surface. It began to light up the bubble from within and with seconds a brilliant white blue light emanated from it, making them all shield their eyes. Magnus’ voice rose even more as he recited the last lines of the spell. The air felt charged with electricity and the lights in the apartment flickered before Magnus dropped the grimoire and used both hands to wave over the surface of the bubble.   
Alec’s eyes squinted open to watch his boyfriend. His face was a mask of concentration and his forehead was deeply creased. He also noted that his golden demon eyes were on show as they looked down at the brilliant light. He could feel Magnus weakening and he felt the prickles of fear on his skin. He didn’t want to see the man he loved in the same state as he was the night of the demon attack. 

“Izzy! Raphael! Grabbed Magnus’ arms, give him your strength!” He called and they both did as he asked. 

Within minutes, he could feel Magnus start to regain more power and then with a final flourish of his hands, Magnus poured as much magic as he could into the shroud. They were all forced to shut their eyes tightly against the blinding light and then there was a loud pop and the light was gone. Alec’s eyes flew open but they were blinded by the sudden darkness after such bright light but his arms flew out in front of him and he felt Jace’s body fall heavily against them. He grunted but managed to keep him from falling to the floor.

It was a good five minutes before they could all open their eyes without irritation. Blinking rapidly, they looked around at each other. Somehow, they ad ended up sprawled on the floor, breathing hard. Alec cradled his best friend in his arms, looking down into his face. His eyes were still shut and Alec laid his hand on his chest. He could feel the steady rhythm of his heart beneath it and the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Thank God, he was alive at least. He looked over to Magnus who was pulling himself up in a sitting position. He gave a sigh of relief that he was okay this time. Their eyes met and Magnus gave him a tired smile.

“We’ve done all we can for him, my angel, he just has to wake up now.” He told him.

Izzy was pulling herself up from the floor to sit on the end of the bed. She buried her face in her hands and scrubbed her palms over her skin.

“That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.” She said, when she let her hands drop.

“Please tell me you have wine, beer, something because after that I really need a drink.” She added.

“I’ll get you a glass, Isabelle. Does anyone else want one?” Raphael asked them as he stood. 

Alec and Magnus both nodded and Izzy followed him out to the kitchen.  
Magnus went over to where Alec sat on the floor with Jace. He looked into his face and brushed his hair back from his damp forehead. Alec looked up to him.

“Thank you, babe. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t been here to perform the spell.” Alec said, reaching out a hand. 

Magnus took it in his and bent to kiss his shoulder.

“My love, I can’t help feel responsible for all this. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t met me that night.”

Alec could feel the sadness inside him and it hurt his heart. He tightened his grip on his hand.

“Magnus, none of this is your fault. It was Valentine’s doing and thank God, he’s gone so we don’t ever have to deal with him again. I don’t blame you for this. Meeting you that night was the best night of my life, one I’ll never regret.   
When I think about what would of happened if Jace hadn’t hurt his ankle, it scares me silly. When I think I owe this big twit for bringing me to my soul mate, makes me want to squeeze him so tight his eyes pop out.” 

Magnus moved as close to Alec as he could get before joining his lips to his for the deepest kiss he could give him.

“Do you two mind? Geez, at least wait till I’m not here before you started trying to swallow each other.”

Alec and Magnus broke apart and looked down to see a very white, sweaty Jace looking up at them from heavy lidded eyes.

“Welcome back, man.” Alec said and held his friend tightly to him. 

Jace was too weak to move and had little choice but to allow his friend to cuddle him. He made a muffled noise before Alec loosen his hold and slowly raised him up so his was supporting his back with one bent leg.

“Did I hear something about popping my eyes out? Cause I really don’t think that will be necessary.”

Magnus gave a laugh and smiled down at him.

“He’ll be fine, he still has that wonderful sense of humor of his.”

“Damned straight.” Jace said, managing a weak smile.

Just then Izzy and Raphael came in and Izzy’s eyes flew to Jace and she took in a deep breath.  
She put her glass of wine on the bedside table before rushing over to his and hugging him as best she could as he lay against her brother.

“Jace! Oh my God, your back! I’m so glad. We were all so sick with worry over you.” She told him.

“Okay, now I know that something bad happened if Izzy Lewis is hugging me.” Jace said, frowning. 

“Alright, sis, I think Jace has had enough shocks to his system for one night. Raphael, could you help me get him to the bed?” Alec said, and the vampire put the two glasses he was holding down beside Izy's and between them they hoisted Jace up and onto the bed. Alec crinkled his nose.

“Man, you really stink. I’m going to have to burn those sheets when you get up,” 

He recognized the smell from the night of Valentine’s attack. Brimstone. 

“I love you too, Alec.” Jace frowned at his friend but his face changed quickly into grin.

“I’m the one who should be worried about what the hell you two have been up to on here.” 

Magnus gave Alec a sheepish grin and tried to hide behind his hand but the unspoken laughter had reached his eyes. Alec just stood at the foot of the bed and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. Nothing had changed. Jace was still a big mouth.

“I was hoping that a near death experience might have fixed your filtering system but clearly it hasn’t” Alec said. Jace gave a soft chuckle.

“You should know that I’ll never change, man” Alec grinned at his friend.

“I hope you never do, either.” He said.


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of this fic. I'm very sorry to actually end this story, it's been a big part of my life for a long while now but i'm also excited to be starting the sequel in the next day or two.  
> Thank you so much to all my wonderful readers who have left comments on the chapters, i so appreciate your words. I hope you call all follow me with the next one and you enjoy it as well.

They let Jace sleep after that. Raphael volunteered to take Izzy back home and Magnus used his magic to produce a large soft mattress in the living room, complete with sheets and blankets. 

When Raphael returned, he told them that he was sure Izzy hadn’t shut up the entire way back home. Going on and on about how glad she was that Jace was alright and how cute a couple her brother and Magnus were. 

“She made me promise to look out for the three of you before she’d get out of the car. The woman could talk anyone to death, lucky for her, I already am. I think I’ll go to bed, good night and Alec? I’m glad that your friend is okay.” Raphael even gave him a small smile. Alec itched to say something snotty back at the vampire but after helping them tonight he really did owe him one.

“Thanks, Raph. Appreciate it.” He held out a hand and he took it shaking it firmly before heading down the hall. 

Suddenly Alec gave a start. Clary! She must be worried sick.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and send her a short text telling her that jace was there, safe and well. Almost immediately, Alec got a very excited text back to say that she would be over in the morning to see him.

“I bet she’s relieved” Magnus said, talking Alec in his arms.

“Yeah, and if I know Clary, she’ll be on the door step at the crack of dawn. We should get to bed.” He brushed his lips to his and then Magnus led him over to the mattress on the floor.

“You think of everything.” Alec said, putting soft kisses against the side of Magnus’ mouth.

“Only you, my angel, I only think of you.” They shed their clothes and got under the covers, content just to hold each other close.

Alec could hear noise coming from the kitchen when he opened his eyes the next morning. He frowned and scrubbed the sleep from his eyes before peering at the time on his phone. Six thirty. More noise from the kitchen. What the hell? 

Magnus was still sleeping soundly beside him, his face relaxed and peaceful. Alec could help leaning down and put a light kiss on his forehead and he saw the corners of his mouth curve and the arm that was draped across him tightened a little. He gently grabbed it and took it off his side and laid it next to its owner. He saw Magnus frown in his sleep and he kissed him once more before grabbing his jeans and hauling them on.

Jace was frying eggs in a pan and sipping a cup of coffee at the same time. He hadn’t noticed Alec yet as he stood leaning on the door frame watching.   
It was a very ordinary scene but Alec couldn’t remember a time when he had ever been so happy to see his best friend. Jace turned to get a plate from the counter and jerked back, giving a loud gasp when he saw Alec.

“Shit, man. What now you’re into stalking people? You’ve been hanging around your boyfriend and his creepy side kick for too long.” He said, putting the cup of coffee and the plate down on the counter. 

Jace didn’t look like he was any worse for wear. His skin was a bit pale and he seemed to of lost a little weight but on the whole, he looked good.

“If it hadn’t been for my boyfriend and his creepy side kick you wouldn’t be here, my friend.” Alec told him. 

Jace came up to him and pulled him in for a bear hug. Hang on, this wasn’t the usual Jace at all. Maybe his near death experience had affected him more than he thought.

“Are you going soft on me, Jace Wayland?” Alec said, his face buried in his shoulder.

“Nah, never but it’s just fucking good to be here, man.” He felt a firm clap on the bare skin of his back before Jace released him, going back to his eggs and coffee.

“I’m glad you’re here too. We need to have a talk about all this, I think.” Alec said as he went into the kitchen and grabbed a cup for himself.

“damned straight we need to talk, I get home from work and next there’s a knock at my door and that weird guy you did the car for is standing at there and the next thing I remember is waking up in your arms. Someone needs to start explaining things to me.” 

Jace started plating his breakfast, gesturing to Alec to see if he wanted some. He just shook his head and went for the coffee.

“Yeah, you might want to eat first, I have a feeling that it will go cold before we get very far.” Alec told him. 

He took his cup and they went to the table and sat down.

“So apparently losing a week of your life does wonders for your appetite.” 

Alec looked amused as Jace shoveled the big pile of eggs into his mouth. He just shot him a sour look and kept going until the plate was empty.   
Alec looked over to where Magnus was still sleeping on the mattress. He really should wait till he woke up but after last night, he probably needed the rest. So, it was up to him. He took in a deep breath.

Alec started pretty much from the beginning, when he and Magnus had first gotten together. He told him as much detail as he could about who Valentine was, what Magnus was and the battle they had fought at the house and what it was over.  
Jace just sat in the other chair, his chin resting on one hand. He never said a word and just nodded occasionally. Alec filled him in about what had happened to Lydia and then how they had brought him back here and how Magnus had broken the spell.  
When Alec stopped talking, he looked to his friend, waiting for his reaction. Jace downed the rest of his coffee.

“So, the guy that lives with Magnus is a vampire?” he asked. Alec looked at him, astounded. He was kidding, right? It must be like a form of delayed post-traumatic stress or something.

“I just told you my boyfriend is a warlock, that we fought a bunch of demons and I stabbed a guy, the same guy who turned Lydia into a raging psycho guard and put you in a magic induced coma, and all you can say is is Raphael a vampire?” 

“Buddy, I have no idea what happened for the past week but that was the best story I’ve ever heard. You should write that all down, I reckon it would sell.” Jace replied. 

Alec couldn’t believe this. He actually didn’t believe him. 

“Jace, I’m not making this up, man. It really happened.” 

“Yeah, and next time you suggest we get wasted on whatever weird alcohol we got into then I hope it’s you who loses the week not me.” 

“Jace, no one was drinking. I’m telling you the truth. When Magnus wakes up, he can show you.”

“Magnus will show him what?”

They both turned around to see Raphael in the dim hallway. He motioned for Alec to close the gap in the curtains before he came into the room. 

“Well, if it isn’t count Dracula himself, so where’s your cape or is that just for formal occasions?” Jace asked him, smiling. 

Alec swallowed Oh shit, zzzzzzt! Wrong thing to say, Jace.

In the blink of an eye, Raphael had come into the room, pulled Jace from the chair and with one arm, held him up against the kitchen wall, his feet dangling about two feet above the floor. His lips were pulled back and his fangs were flashing menacingly at him.  
Jace looked like he was about to need another pair of pants.

“Raph, I think Mr Wayland gets the point now, can you put him down please? We’ve had enough drama for a while.” 

Alec turned and saw Magnus, a sheet wrapped around his waist, and arms folded over his broad muscular chest. Alec felt himself starting to grin at the sight of him standing there. That’s all mine, he thought before he made himself come back to reality and the fact that a vampire had his best friend suspended on a wall.   
There was a knock at the door and Alec’s eyes went to Magnus and then to Jace, who had been lowered back to the floor. He was as white as a sheet and a fine sheen of sweat had broken out over his face. It was Clary. Great, perfect timing.   
Luckily, Magnus went into action.

“Alec, help Jace to the sofa and put the blanket over him, Raphael, I think you need to take some time out, thank you and I’ll open the door.” He said. 

He gave his finger s a click and produced the blue flame before waving it over his body. He was instantly dressed in a shirt and jeans and a pair of black ankle length boots.   
He went over and opened the door to let a very excited Clary in. 

“Good morning Clary. Here he is, safe and sound as promised.” Magnus said, waving a hand in Jace’s direction. 

Alec swallowed and looked to his friend who was slowly regaining some of his color.  
Clary rushed over and sat next to him wrapped herself around his shoulders and promptly bursting into tears. Jace blinked a couple of times before he seemed to come back to reality again and held his sobbing girlfriend back.

“Come, Alexander, I think Jace and Clary could do with some alone time.” 

Magnus held out a hand to him and he took it and they headed for his bedroom.

“what if he tells Clary about everything?” Alec asked him as they went in, closed the door and sat on the bed.

“I don’t really think Jace will be in any great hurry to repeat a story he’s still trying to get his head around himself. They need some time together. I’d hate it if I knew you were in trouble and I couldn’t get to you for that long. It would just about end me.” Magnus said as he held Alec’s hands.

“Thanks to our bond, that would never happen, though, babe.” 

Alec leaned in and kissed him before they both laid back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.   
For the first time in a long while, Alec felt completely relaxed. He had everything he needed. The love of his life beside him, his best friend back safe if not completely sound yet. It was so good to just lay back and not have anything to worry about.

“So, when do we start looking for apartments, my angel?” Magnus said, rolling onto his side and propping his head up with one hand.

Alec smiled back at him.

“Is today too soon? I’ve wasted enough time not doing the things I’ve wanted to do, and I just want to start living my life with the person who holds the other piece of my heart.” He answered.

Magnus beaned at him and leaned down, joining his lips to his. His body rested on Alec’s chest and his hands went to either side of his face.

“I love you, Alexander Lightwood. For all eternity.” He said, softly when he lifted his head.

“I love you too, Magnus Bane and eternity is a very long time, you know.” Alec smiled back at him, holding him in his arms.

“Your right, my love. Let’s start with forever and see how it goes.” Alec felt that inner light that Magnus had ignited in him shine so brightly, he was sure he was glowing. 

“And you can light the way, my angel.” Magnus said before joining his lips to his once more.

Alec held him tightly to him. It didn’t matter where they lived because home would always be right there in Magnus’ arms.


End file.
